Comparison of the solid phase enzyme receptor assay (SPERA) and the microbiological assay for teicoplanin

A solid phase enzyme receptor assay (SPERA) for teicoplanin has been developed and recently presented in a kit form. The assay relies on the competition between antibiotic present in the biological fluid and peroxidase labelled teicoplanin for albumin-ε-amino-caproyl-D-alanyl-D-alanine (BSA-ε-ACA-D-Ala-D-Ala), a synthetic analog of the biological receptor. The kit contains BSA-ε-ACA-D-Ala-D-Ala coated microplates together with all the necessary reagents. The limit of detection of the SPERA is 0·5mg1 −1. The microbiological assay for teicoplanin uses Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633 as test organism and a high salt medium to ensure a low limit of detection of 0·05 mg1 −1. The previously established correlation between the two methods has been confirmed using the kits on 280 serum and 216 urine samples with concentrations up to 500mg1 −1.