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METHODS IN IMMUNOCHEMISTRY OF VIRUSES
Author(s) -
St. Groth S Fazekas
Publication year - 1961
Publication title -
australian journal of experimental biology and medical science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.999
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1440-1711
pISSN - 0004-945X
DOI - 10.1038/icb.1961.56
Subject(s) - immunochemistry , constant (computer programming) , virus , saturation (graph theory) , mathematics , statistical physics , thermodynamics , antibody , chemistry , virology , physics , biology , computer science , immunology , combinatorics , programming language
SUMMARY Principles governing the choice of variables and of the most informative range of concentrations for equilibrium measurements are discussed. The procedure found most suitable for work on viruses and their antibodies is equilibrium filtration of mixtures containing constant doses of antibody and variable amounts of virus. Measurements will be reliable and free from complications if the antigenic sites are far from saturation and at least nine‐tenths of antibody are bound. Two linear transforms of the law of mass action are derived; with the aid of either of these the equilibrium constant of the virus‐antibody union and the number of antigenic sites per virus particle can be estimated simultaneously. Statistical procedures appropriate to equilibrium measurements are given, together with rapid tests for checking the validity of all assumptions underlying the mathematical model. The evaluation of parameters is demonstrated, in detail, on an example of influenza virus and an anti‐influenzal rabbit serum. Numerical tables needed for the expeditious solution of equilibrium equations are given in an Appendix.