Abstract: Mercury was used as the initial material to chelate GSH and obtain a bi-functional hepten of Hg-GSH chalete. The hapten was then coupled with the carrier protein such as bovine serum albumin (BSA) or ovalbumin (OVA) to obtain a complete antigen, Hg-GSH-BSA (OVA), whose successful synthesis was confirmed by ultra-violet spectrum and SDS-PAGE. On the basis of mercury content in synthesized products determined by atomic absorption spectrometry and the amount of carrier protein determined by bicinchoninic acid (BCA) assay, the coupling ratio between mercury and carrier protein calculated to be 9:1. The successful synthesis of Hg-GSH-BSA conjugate may lay a basis for preparing recognizing antibodies of mercury chelate.

Key words: mercury, heavy metal, immunoassay, bifunctional chelating agent, antigen