Perturbed angular correlation study of a haptenic molecule.

The angular correlation of the 173-247 keV gamma-ray cascade after the electron-capture decay of (111)In is strongly perturbed when the 1-p-nitrophenyl-ethylenediaminetetraacetate chelate of (111)In(8+) is added to a solution containing rabbit antibody to dinitrophenyl groups. The radioactive chelate can be displaced by the addition of dinitrophenyllysine or unlabeled chelate. The average association constant between the antibody and the labeled chelate has been estimated from perturbed angular correlation measurements; this value is compared to the results of equilibrium dialysis. These experiments provide good evidence that information concerning macromolecular behavior can be obtained from perturbed angular correlation experiments that use chemically specific labels.