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Quantitative Studies on the Antigen-Antibody Reaction by the Monolayer Technique

II. Desorption Experiments¹

From the Department of Serology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, the Chemical Laboratory, Ochanomizu University and Tokyo Medical College, Tokyo, Japan

Abstract

The monolayer technique in the observation of the antigen-antibody reaction is applicable to desorption experiments irrespective of the valency of the antigenic substance. It offers a new method of measurement of the strength of combination between haptens and antibodies. This strength can be expressed as relative desorption strength.

The values of relative desorption strength significantly depend upon the number of atoxyl groups per molecule and higher values are obtained with the haptenic compounds containing greater number of atoxyl groups. However, differences exist in the desorption strengths of haptens with the same valence. Among the substances with two atoxyl groups, the atoxyl-azoamino acids, which are closer in chemical structure to the immunizing antigen, exhibit higher values than any other compounds. In addition they give no precipitate with the antiserum in contrast to other haptens with two atoxyl groups.

It seems reasonable to assume that the haptens bearing two atoxyl groups in meta position constitute one single determinant group. In that sense it may be considered as univalent contrary to the current concept that a haptenic substance with two atoxyl groups is bivalent under any circumstances.

Footnotes

¹ A greater part of this work was briefly presented at the Sixth International Congress for Microbiology, Rome, September 1953. The remaining part was read before the Annual Meeting of the Bacteriological Society of Japan, Tokyo, April 1955 and the Symposium on the Structure of Protein Molecules by the Chemical Society of Japan, Osaka, November 1954.