Evaluation of an enzyme immunochromatography method for carbamazepine: a comparison with enzyme-multiplied immunoassay technique, fluorescence polarization immunoassay, and high-performance liquid chromatography

A noninstrumented enzyme immunochromatography (EIC) method for monitoring carbamazepine using whole blood was compared to the enzyme-multiplied immunoassay technique (EMIT), fluorescence polarization immunoassay (FPIA), and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Samples from 74 patients were evaluated in the comparison study, yielding correlation coefficients of 0.961 (EMIT), 0.974 (FPIA), and 0.867 (HPLC). The EIC method produced within-run coefficients of variation of 4.3%, 4.9%, and 5.8% for three carbamazepine concentrations. The between-run coefficient of variation over 107 days was 4.9%. The spiked serum sample analysis yielded recovery rates ranging from 98 to 102%. Enzyme immunochromatography was found to be a useful noninstrumented method for on-site testing. The test gives quantitative patient sample results comparable to the results obtained using established laboratory methods.