Detection of methamphetamine class of drugs

摘要

The present invention provides immunoassays which are highly specific for detection in biological samples of methamphetamine and other drugs of abuse of the methamphetamine group such as ecstasy and other ecstasy class drugs. More particularly, competitive assays are provided comprising:

(a) contacting said sample with (i) a pseudoephedrine/carrier conjugate in which pseudoephedrine is linked via its hydroxyl group to the carrier and (ii) an antibody which is capable of binding both one or more drugs of the methamphetamine group and said conjugate; and

(b) determining whether the binding of said antibody to said conjugate is reduced by the presence of said sample, a reduction in binding being indicative that the sample contains a methamphetamine group drug. The risk of false positives arising from the sample containing any ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, phenylpropanolamine, phentermine or tyramine is very low.