Radioimmunoassay for nanogram quantities of DNA.

A direct competitive binding radioimmunoassay for DNA has been developed, using 125I-iododeoxyuridine-labelled DNA as the antigen and the serum from a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus. The assay is sensitive in the range of 25 to 1000 ng/ml of DNA. The sensitivity is determined by the affinity of the antibody: this SLE serum contains a component with an association constant of 9.6 X 10(-5) l/mol active at high dilution (1/10,000). Any biological material, such as serum, synovial fluid or tissue extracts can be tested directly. No interference has been found by DNAse in normal serum, or inhibition by mononucleotides or RNA. Native or denatured DNA from different sources (Escherichia coli, salmon sperm, calf thymus and human placenta) either purified or not, competes equally well for the antibody in this system.