Evaluation of ELISA for the multianalyte analysis of s-triazines in pesticide waste and rinsate

Immunoassay has been adapted for the analysis of pesticide waste and rinsate. Five s-triazine-specific monoclonal antibodies and three different enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay formats were evaluated for reactivity and sensitivity toward atrazine, simazine, and cyanazine. Three of the antibodies showed similar reactivity patterns toward the analytes. The two other antibodies had distinctively different patterns. Three antibodies that possessed different reactivity patterns were chosen for further assay format optimization and were evaluated for the ability to quantitate individual and total s-triazine analytes in a buffer mixture by solving simultaneous equations, each representative of individual antibody assays. This method was applied to pesticide waste and rinsate analysis. The quantities of individual and total s-trazines in actual pesticide waste samples containing atrazine, simazine, and cyanazine measured by immunoassay were compared to the quantities measured by high-pressure liquid chromatography. Correlation coefficients for the analysis of atrazine, simazine, cyanazine, and total s-triazine were 0.94, 0.90, 0.92, and 0.85, respectively