Determination of drugs of abuse in body fluids by radioimmunoassay.

Only recently has radioimmunoassay been used for the detection of drugs of abuse in body fluids. The radioimmunoassay method is rapid, sensitive, specific, and can be performed with a minimum of sample, while conventional assay methods are time-consuming, relatively insensitive, and require a larger sample volume. Performance of individual radioimmunoassays is identical, and requires about one hour to complete. The radioimmunoassays which have been developed for measurement of drugs of abuse in humans are reviewed in this paper. These new techniques are of importance in individual and/or emergency testing, in screening, and in further research into the effect of these drugs on the functions of the human body.