Determination of testosterone in an individual shell of Thais clavigera by ELISA

Abstract

A determination method for testosterone in the reproductive organ of an individual shell of a marine gastropod, Thais clavigera, was established by ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay). Large deviation in analytical values often encountered in ELISA was overcome both by selecting the ELISA kit used and by extensively purifying the fraction to be analyzed in the pretreatment steps. These resulted in the ELISA values comparable to those by GC/MS. Based on this method, significantly higher testosterone content was confirmed in the female imposex-suffered shells collected from organotin- contaminated seashores than normal ones.