Ammonium sulphate enhancement of the antigen-antibody reaction. Manual and automated nephelometric studies

The enhancing effect of ammonium sulphate on the antigen-antibody reaction is demonstrated. The effect is compared with that of polyethylene glycol by means of manual and automated nephelometry. The enhancement of both ammonium sulphate and polyethylene glycol is shown to be of the same magnitude in the region of large antibody excess. If however, the antigen-antibody ratio is shifted towards the region of equivalence, the enhancement of polyethylene glycol is more pronounced. The applicability of ammonium sulphate in a continuous flow analyzer for the specific quantitative nephelometric determination of serum proteins is discussed.