German Researchers Develop New Ultra-Sensitive Test for Gluten in Foods

Nahrung. 2003 Oct;47(5):345-8.

Celiac.com Sponsor (A12):
Celiac.com 01/14/04 – German researchers have developed a new test to determine the level of gliadin, the portion of gluten that is toxic to celiac patients, in foods. This new technique is called immunopolymerase chain reaction (iPCR), and it utilizes immunological detection of gliadin by a monoclonal antibody R5 conjugated when an oligonucleotide is amplified by PCR. The technique yields a "30-fold above the level reached by enzyme immunoassay" in laboratory tests, and it detects concentrations in food "as low as 0.16 ng/ml corresponding to 16 microgram gliadin/100 g food or 0.16 ppm (corresponding to 0.25 g of food extracted in 10 ml of solvent and 25-fold dilution of the extract prior to analysis)." This is the first time that this highly sensitive technique has been used for gliadin analysis, and "is the first approach to perform real-time iPCR in one step without changing the reaction vessels after enzyme immunoassay for subsequent PCR analysis thus minimizing risks of contamination and loss of sensitivity."