Development of a Monoclonal Antibody for the Detection of a Potentially Allergenic Epitope in Soy

The development of a monoclonal antibody enables a specific and sensitive detection of a potentially allergenic epitope from proglycinin in soy and constitutes an appropriate tool for analytical purposes in medical diagnostics and food labeling. Proglycinin was utilized as immunogen. The most favorable antibody G17E detected in a hybridoma cell culture screening was mass produced, purified, and used for immunoaffinity purification of proglycinin. In a heterogeneous, non-competitive ELISA format, a 50% ELISA inhibition point of 13 mu g/L for purified proglycinin was determined. Cross-reactivity with homologous epitopes could be excluded. Specificity of G17E was determined by epitope mapping.