Abstract
International Standards for Biological Assay AN inquiry on the assay of gas gangrene antitoxin (perfringens) carried out under the auspices of the Department of Biological Standards of the State Serum Institute, Copenhagen (League of Nations. Bulletin of the Health Organisation, 8, No. 6, 797–912 (1939). Biological Standardisation, iv), reached the following conclusions. Perfringens antitoxins show the same activity when assayed against different toxins, if the toxins contain one and the same predominant antigen. The hæmolysin content influences the assay when the ratio minimum lethal dose/minimum hæmolytic dose exceeds 100. Intravenous assays on mice give results corresponding to those obtained intracutaneously on guinea pigs when pure ζ or ζα,toxins are used. There is a relation between the activities of a perfringens antitoxin determined in vitro (hæmolysis) and in vivo only if pure ζ toxins are used in both tests. A perfringens toxin suitable for estimating the ζ antibody content in perfringens antitoxins has been prepared in Copenhagen and is at the disposal of institutes. The international unit for gas gangrene antitoxin (Sardelli) is defined as 0˙1334 mgm. of the dry stable Washington preparation.
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Research Items. Nature 146, 748–749 (1940). https://doi.org/10.1038/146748a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/146748a0