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A simplified radioimmunoassay of plasma nortriptyline in depressed patients compared with high-pressure liquid chromatography and gas-liquid chromatography

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Abstract

Antiserum to nortriptyline was generated in male New Zealand rabbits innoculated with n-succinylnortriptyline-bovine serum albumin conjugates. The antiserum was used at a final dilution of 1∶4000 and tritiated imipramine was used as the label antigen. An accurate, sensitive, and specific radioimmunoassay of depressed patients' plasma or serum nortriptyline is described. The accuracy was good with a recovery range of 90–100% with a mean of 94%. The method can be used to measure nortriptyline concentration in the range of 0.1 μg/liter to 100 μg/liter without prior extraction and purification of plasma or serum. Results of this method correlate well with those obtained by high-pressure liquid chromatography (r=0.979) and by gas-liquid chromatography (r=0.98). The specificity of the antiserum was examined by studying the cross-reactivity of 20 different psychopharmacological compounds, including nortriptyline's metabolites.

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  1. Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, 10962, Orangeburg, New York

    Joseph F. Sayegh

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  1. Joseph F. Sayegh
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Sayegh, J.F. A simplified radioimmunoassay of plasma nortriptyline in depressed patients compared with high-pressure liquid chromatography and gas-liquid chromatography. Neurochem Res 11, 193–206 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00967968

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