Enzyme-linked immunoassay of somatostatin.

An enzyme-linked immunoassay for somatostatin using somatostatin-alkaline phosphatase conjugate as "labeled" antigen was developed. Minimal detectable dose at present was 40 pg per tube. Serial dilutions of rat hypothalamic extract gave a gradual change of antibody-bound alkaline phosphatase activity which was parallel to that with standard somatostatin. Precision and accuracy of the method were comparable to those in radioimmunoassay reported by others. This method will be a useful tool for the determination of somatostatin, especially in tissues.