Radioimmunoassay and radioenzymatic assay of a new aminoglycoside antibiotic, netilmicin.

A radioimmunoassay and a radioenzymatic assay for netilmicin, a new aminoglycoside, were developed in our laboratories to assist in the study of the pharmacology of the drug and to establish values for use in its monitoring. The assays are sensitive, precise, and rapid, giving results that correlate (r = 0.90) with each other and with those of a microbiological assay in which Klebsiella pneumoniae is used as the test organism. Preliminary pharmacological studies show the drug to have a biological half-life of 135 min. which is comparable to that for other aminoglycosides.