Characterization of a new monoclonal antibody against mercury (II)

Monoclonal antibodies (mabs) were produced against mercury (II) and an enzyme immunoassay was developed for the detection of mercury (II) in water. Since mercury (II) ions are too small to elicit an immune response, they were coupled via glutathione (GSH) to the immunogenic carrier protein keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH). Several mice were immunised with this KLH-GSH-Hg immunoconjugate. Spleen cells of immunised mice were fused with myeloma cells. The resulting hybridoma cells were screened for the production of specific anti-Hg mabs. Five positive cells were detected. The hybridoma cell line K3C6 was adjusted to protein flee medium; it produced mabs with high selectivity and sensitivity. A detection limit of 2.8 μg/L HgCl₂ (= 2.1 μg/L Hg²⁺) was achieved with a non-competitive enzyme immunoassay (EIA). Cross-reactivities with other metals were below 1%. Measurement of spiked water samples with this EIA showed good correlation with results obtained by mass spectrometry with inductive coupled plasma (ICP-MS).