Determination of an echinocandin, MK-0991, in mammalian plasma by radioimmunoassay.

A quantitative method based on radioimmunoassay for the determination of the antifungal agent, CANCIDAS (MK-0991) has been developed and validated. The immunogen was prepared by coupling MK-0991 to bovine serum albumin through a two-step reaction with difluorodinitrobenzene. An antiserum specific to MK-0991 was selected for RIA. The assay was based on the competitive immunoassay principle in which the drug competes with iodinated drug for a limited quantity of specific antibody. The bound tracer was separated via goat anti-rabbit globulin. The assay demonstrates good accuracy and reproducibility at plasma concentration down to 10 ng/ml. The specificity of the RIA method was confirmed by cross-validating against an established HPLC method.