Immunochemical and Biologic Properties of Antibodies against Opioids

The preparation of antibodies against opioids has provided reagents for assay techniques which are more sensitive than existing procedures and which are potentially useful in basic studies of opioid p h a r m a c o l ~ y (1-8). W e have been interested in developing different species of opioid-reactive antisera and studying their different properties with the general purpose of developing immunochemical techniques for the study of opioid pharmacology. The studies to be described are divided into three broad areas, the first of which was the preparation of several semisynthetic opioid derivatives containing suitable reactive groups which would allow covalent attachment to protein carriers forming immunogenic hapten-protein conjugates. The second area was concerned with an investigation of the immunochem~cal reactivities of antibodies produced following immunization with such conjugates. The third area invoked a n investigation of some of the biological properties of the various antisera with respect to their effects on the pharmacological actions of opioids.