2. Antigen-antibody system

In 1960, R. Yalow and S. Berson proposed a method for the determination of plasma insulin [21] using an antigen-antibody reaction combined with iodine-131-labeled insulin. They invented an assay method which, within a few years, was to be widely used: radioimmunoassay.

Its development also benefited from favorable circumstances, notably: the work of L. Miles and C. Hales on antibody labelling [22][23] , the use of not one but two antibodies capable of reacting at different sites on the molecule. The results obtained by these authors as early as 1968 made it possible to switch to excess antibody techniques and further improve the detection limit to values of 10 ^...