Preparation and evaluation of steroid chemiluminescent tracers

Six different isoluminol derivatives have been synthesized and evaluated as potential labels for conjugation to steroid molecules. The resulting steroid-chemiluminescent tracers have been investigated in terms of detection limit and affinity for the homologous antibody. The conjugation to the steroid molecule did not significantly affect the quantum yield of the chemiluminescent label. Consequently the detection limit was very similar using tracers with the same chemiluminescent label and different steroids and it was always at picomolar levels. The affinity of the chemiluminescent tracer versus the homologous antibody was evaluated using tritiated steroids as reference. The bridge and the chemiluminescent molecule could influence the affinity of the chemiluminescent tracer which could be higher, similar or lower than that of the tritiated steroid. In conclusion some isoluminol derivatives (i.e. ABEI or AEEI) can be considered as universal labelling compounds for steroids and their metabolites, because they possess a high light efficiency (similar to luminal itself) and favourable reaction conditions. Moreover the conjugation to the steroid molecule does not modify their chemiluminescent properties.