IMMUNOCHEMICAL METHODS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING

Immunochemical methods for environmental analysis must be taken into consideration more for their ability to expand the potential of analytical measures rather than for substituting current methodologies. Moreover, the full potential of these methods has yet to be realized. Indeed, the terms and concepts of immunology are new to most analytical chemists, even if environmental science has always been an interdisciplinary field. On the other hand, the clinical development of immunoassays means that much experience has been gained in the analysis of blood, urine, and tissue samples. The immunochemical analysis of samples from soils, ground water, waste chemicals, poses new challenges in sample preparation that have yet to be extensively studied, and in the future there may be immunoassays better suited for the particular problems associated with environmental monitoring.