Radioimmunoassay 1959 – A Revolutionary Invention

American medical physicist Rosalyn Yalow's invention of radioimmunoassay (RIA) revolutionized biological and medical research, according to the 1977 Nobel Prize Committee. This revolution was described as "more important than the discovery of X-rays" .

Discovered by Yalow and her American colleague, physician Solomon Berson, RIA has been used to measure microscopic quantities of hormones such as insulin, toxins, viruses, neurotransmitters, certain cancers, and illicit drugs. Several companies have used RIA to screen blood for the hepatitis B virus. 

To use RIA, a scientist must work with an antigen recognized by the immune system:

• The known antigen is made radioactive and then mixed with a specific quantity of antibodies in a test tube. 
• The antigens and antibodies bind to one another. 
• A nonradioactive test substance containing a small amount of the antigen is added to the solution, and some of the test antigens displace the radioactive material bound to the antibodies. 
• Scientists then measure the amount of radioactive antigen released to determine the small quantity of antigen in the sample being studied. 

Today, related antibody-binding methods are used to detect small amounts of a substance through observable color changes, such as ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay). These approaches do not require radioactive elements.

Given the barriers women have faced in science, Yalow's achievement of earning a doctorate in nuclear physics in 1945 is particularly inspiring. Because Yalow and Berson wanted humanity to benefit readily from this technique, they declined to patent RIA.

Description of the Article Image: Solomon Aaron Berson and Rosalyn Yalow

Historical Figures Mentioned in This Article: Solomon Aaron Berson (1918–1972), Rosalyn Sussman Yalow (1921–2011)

• Previous topic: Nanomedicine 1959 – Reducing Dimensions to One Ten-Thousandth
• Next topic: The Structure of Antibodies 1959 – A Step Toward Understanding the Immune Mechanism