Use of Lucifer Yellow VS as a Label in Fluorescent Immunoassays Illustrated by the Determination of Albumin in Serum

The use of a new label for fluoroimmunoassay is described. Lucifer yellow VS is a highly fluorescent vinyl sulphone dye which, under mild conditions, forms covalent bonds with amino and sulphydryl groups but is extremely stable in water. A large Stokes shift (110 nm) and an emission maximum at 540 nm give Lucifer yellow further advantages over the more commonly used labels. The use of the dye as a label has been demonstrated by developing a heterogeneous fluoroimmunoassay for human serum albumin. The fluoroimmunoassay gave comparable results to those obtained using a less specific colorimetric dye-binding assay (r = 0·97, n = 20). The advantages, limitations, and other potential uses of Lucifer yellow are discussed.