title: An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the determination of dioxins in contaminated sediment and soil samples.
abstract: A 96-microwell enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method was evaluated to determine PCDDs/PCDFs in sediment and soil samples from an EPA Superfund site. Samples were prepared and analyzed by both the ELISA and a gas chromatography/high resolution mass spectrometry (GC/HRMS) method. Comparable method precision, accuracy, and detection level (8 ng kg(-1)) were achieved by the ELISA method with respect to GC/HRMS. However, the extraction and cleanup method developed for the ELISA requires refinement for the soil type that yielded a waxy residue after sample processing. Four types of statistical analyses (Pearson correlation coefficient, paired t-test, nonparametric tests, and McNemar's test of association) were performed to determine whether the two methods produced statistically different results. The log-transformed ELISA-derived 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin values and log-transformed GC/HRMS-derived TEQ values were significantly correlated (r=0.79) at the 0.05 level. The median difference in values between ELISA and GC/HRMS was not significant at the 0.05 level. Low false negative and false positive rates (<10%) were observed for the ELISA when compared to the GC/HRMS at 1,000 ng TEQ kg(-1). The findings suggest that immunochemical technology could be a complementary monitoring tool for determining concentrations at the 1,000 ng TEQ kg(-1) action level for contaminated sediment and soil. The ELISA could also be used in an analytical triage approach to screen and rank samples prior to instrumental analysis.
authors.affiliation: US Environmental Protection Agency, National Exposure Research Laboratory, P.O. Box 93478, Las Vegas, NV 89193-3478, USA. VanEmon.Jeanette@epa.gov
authors.forename: Jeanette M Van
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Emon
authors.forename: Jane C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Chuang
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Lordo
authors.forename: Mary E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Schrock
authors.forename: Mikaela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nichkova
authors.forename: Shirley J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Gee
authors.forename: Bruce D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Hammock
mesh_terms: D004147:Dioxins / Q000032:analysis*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods*; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D004147:Dioxins; D012989:Soil Pollutants