Molecular immunology
-
Molecular immunology · Oct 1990
Immunoassays employing substituted ammonium compounds other than neuromuscular blocking drugs to increase the detection of IgE antibodies to these drugs.
Subjects who experience life-threatening anaphylactic reactions to neuromuscular blocking drugs frequently have serum IgE antibodies that react with substituted ammonium groups on the drugs. Failure to detect drug-reactive antibodies may be due to the nature of the drug-solid support used for testing sera. ⋯ For d-tubocurarine and alcuronium, detections increased from 92 to 100% and from 67 to 88%, respectively. Molecular models revealed a clear structural similarity between the conformations of the trialkylammonium groups on one face of the molecules of morphine and d-tubocurarine.