Immunoassays of psychoactive drugs including psychotomimetic drugs, narcotic drugs, and tetrahydrocannabinols and treatment methods based on the antigenic properties of protein conjugates of these drugs. These methods are based upon treating the psychoactive substances as haptens and utilizing their protein conjugates to produce antibodies to the psychoactive materials themselves. The immunoassay methods include both agglutination and agglutination-inhibition reactions. The treatment methods include treatment of both exogenous, administered drugs (such as cannabinols, LSD, heroin and morphine) and endogenous substances (such as N,N-Dimethyltryptamine and 5-Methoxy-N,N-Dimethyltryptamine), by active immunization and also passive immunization.

Claims

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. An analytic reagent package, for use in determining a psychoactive hapten in a sample, comprising a first antibody to said hapten, specific to a first site on said hapten, and a second antibody to said hapten, specific to a second sits on said hapten.

2. An analytic reagent package, for use in determining a hapten in a sample, comprising a first antibody to said hapten, specific to a first site on said hapten, and a second antibody to said hapten, specific to a second site on said hapten, at least one of said antibodies being bound to an agglutinable particulate carrier.

3. A reagent package, for use in determining a psychoactive hapten in a sample, comprising a first container holding a premeasured quantity of an antibody to said hapten and a second container holding a premeasured quantity of said hapten bound to an agglutinable particulate carrier, said quantities of said antibody and said agglutinable carrier-bound hapten being chosen to produce agglutination when and only when the quantity of hapten in said sample is below a predetermined amount.

4. The reagent package of claim 3 wherein said first container and said second container are separated by a rupturable membrane.

5. The reagent package of claim 3 further comprising a breachable divider means between the first container and the second container for permitting incubation of a sample in one said container before permitting flow of the sample into the other said container.

6. The package of claim 5 wherein the first container and the second container are upper and lower compartments of a single cylinder.

7. A reagent package for use in determining a hapten in a sample, said hapten having more than one antigenic site, said package comprising a first container holding a premeasured quantity of an agglutinable particulate carrier to which is bound an antibody to a first antigenic site on said hapten, and a second container holding a premeasured quantity of an antibody to a second antigenic site on said hapten, said quantities of said agglutinable carrier-bound antibody and said antibody being chosen to produce agglutination when and only when the quantity of said hapten in said sample is above a predetermined amount.

8. An analytic reagent package for use in determining a hapten containing more than one antigenically different antigenic site, the package comprising a first antibody prepared to be substantially specific to a first site on the hapten and a second antibody prepared to be substantially specific to a second site on the hapten.

9. The package of claim 8 further comprising means cooperable with the first antibody and the second antibody for producing an indication of the presence or absence of the hapten.

10. The package of claim 9 wherein at least one of the first antibody and the second antibody is bound to an agglutinable particulate carrier, and the indication is a visible agglutination.

11. The package of claim 8 wherein the first antibody is contained in a first compartment and the second antibody is contained in a second compartment.

12. A method of determining a psychoactive hapten in a sample comprising a step of providing a package containing a first chamber holding a premeasured quantity of an antibody to the hapten and a second chamber holding a premeasured quantity of the hapten bound to an agglutinable particulate carrier, and a breachable divider between the first chamber and the second chamber, the quantities of the antibody and the agglutinable carrier-bound hapten being chosen to produce agglutination when and only when the quantity of hapten in the sample is below a predetermined amount; a step of introducing a sample into the first chamber; and thereafter a step of breaching in the divider and thereby causing the sample and the antibody to flow into the second chamber.

 

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