The Impact of Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate and 2-Mercaptoethanol on Antibody and Antigen Binding

Objective To evaluate the effect of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and 2-mercaptoethanol (2-ME) on antigen-antibody binding when incubated at 100 degrees C, which is the pretreatment temperature required for western blots. Methods Serum that tested positive for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) plus loading buffer were mixed at a ratio of 4:1 and incubated in a water bath. We then detected HBsAg using double immunodiffusion and ELISA. Results The HBsAg titer was 1:512 in the control group when incubated at 37 degrees C. Incubation with SDS at 100 degrees C reduced the antigen titer to 1:32. The inhibitory effect on HBsAg titer reached 96.9% after incubation at 100 degrees C with SDS and 2-ME. Conclusion We detected strong inhibition of antigens in western blots via SDS and 2-ME. It is likely that false-negative results will be obtained from western blots of antigens with weak resistance to these reagents.