Tests that work on much the same basis as an at-home pregnancy test are providing an efficient and relatively inexpensive way to detect the source, exposure and effect of toxic chemicals that pose a threat to human health. Professor Bruce Hammock and colleagues in the UC Davis departments of entomology and environmental toxicology have developed 15-20 such immunoassays to detect suspect chemicals or their byproducts in the urine. These highly sensitive tests rely on antibodies to identify target compounds that in turn signal the presence of potentially harmful chemicals including herbicides for weed control, agricultural pesticides, industrial chemicals and naphthalene, which has a variety of uses ranging from mothballs to printing. "The immunoassays that test for urinary biomarkers are particularly desirable because they are non-invasive procedures," Hammock says. "By developing immunoassays for foreign compounds and their metabolites, we can begin to address the question of the ultimate risk and fate of a given compound." Hammock will discuss "Immunoassays for Urinary Biomarkers of Exposure" on Thursday, April 9, at 2 p.m. in the Hilton Hotel.