The screening by immunoenzymometric assay (IEMA) of 784 monoclonal antibody (MAb) combinations resulted in the selection of an optimal pair of MAbs for measuring human cardiac troponin I (TnI). Using a one-step IEMA described here, we were able to detect TnI within the range of 0.2-20 micrograms/L in 30 min at room temperature. No cross-reactivity was observed with the skeletal isoforms of troponin up to a concentration of 500 micrograms/L. This assay was used to measure cardiac TnI in the plasma of 43 patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). TnI was detected relatively early after the onset of chest pain (4.3 +/- 2.1 h, mean +/- SD); the peak occurred after 12.2 +/- 4.6 h in a population that had undergone fibrinolysis. TnI disappearance was generally observed between 5 and 9 days after the onset of chest pain. No cardiac TnI could be detected in 145 healthy donors or in a control group of 6 patients (with skeletal damage or rhabdomyolysis). This assay allows a specific diagnosis of AMI in its early acute phase, with a high diagnostic specificity and sensitivity.

The universal critical-scattering function ͑CSF͒ has been measured on a CO 2 sample at critical density by small-angle neutron scattering. The experiment was designed and conducted in such a way as to reach an accuracy of 0.3% in the determination of the CSF in the large-Q range. Several approximate equations proposed in the literature are used to model the results, and their validity is discussed, but the main purpose of this work was to produce accurate data in the region of the crossover between the Ornstein-Zernike and critical regimes. ͓S0163-1829͑98͒06042-1͔

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Gadolinium-chelating cationic lipids have been synthesized to obtain lipoplexes with MRI contrast properties. These compounds were designed to follow the biodistribution of synthetic DNA for gene delivery by nuclear magnetic resonance imaging. The lipid MCO-I-68 was synthesized, and chelate complexes with gadolinium were formed and characterized in terms of physicochemical and DNA binding properties. The transfection activity of MCO-I-68-Gd/DNA complexes was assayed in vitro on NIH 3T3. Different formulations of the product were tested. When up to 5% of the gadolinium lipid complexes were co-formulated with the cationic lipid RPR120535 used as a reference, the transfection levels were maintained as compared to RPR120535 alone. To date, only a liposomal formulation of a gadolinium-cationic lipid chelate without DNA had been observed using magnetic resonance imaging. In vivo intratumoral administration of MCO-I-68-Gd/DNA lipoplexes to tumor model led to an important increase of the NMR signal. It was demonstrated that the new complexes also acted as transfection carriers when they were formulated from liposomes.

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Abstract. C23H220 , triclinic, P1, a = 9.644 (3), b = 10.0001 (3), c = 10.4999 (3) A, c~ = 78.77 (3), fl = 67.53 (3), y= 74.91 (2) ° , V=898.3 A3, dc= 1.16 Mg m -3, Z = 2. There are two independent molecules in the asymmetric unit, which have very similar conformations. The structure was refined to a final R of 0.0586 for 2294 significant reflections.

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