Comparison of a new, rapid enzyme immunoassay with a latex agglutination test for qualitative detection of rubella antibodies

Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay for rubella antibodies: a simple method of antigen production. A preliminary report

A simple method of rubella antigen production by treatment with sodium desoxycholate for use in enzyme immunoassay (IMT-ELISA) is presented. When this assay was compared with a commercial test (Enzygnost-Rubella, Behring), in the study of 108 sera and 118 filter paper blood samples, 96.9% (219/226) overall agreement and correlation coefficient of 0.90 between absorbances were observed. Seven samples showed discordant results, negative by the commercial kit and positive by our test. Four of those 7 samples were available, being 3 positive by HI.

Microparticle enzyme immunoassay for determination of immunoglobulin G antibodies to human cytomegalovirus

A microparticle enzyme immunoassay (LEIA) that uses passive latex agglutination was used to detect cytomegalovirus immunoglobulin G antibodies in 495 serum samples. LEIA was in excellent concordance with latex agglutination (97%) and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (98.3%). The sensitivity and specificity of LEIA compared with those of the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were 100 and 92.5%, respectively.

Clinical laboratory applications of monoclonal antibodies

Monoclonal antibody (MAb) technology is well recognized as a significant development for producing specific serologic reagents to a wide variety of antigens in unlimited amounts. These reagents have provided the means for developing a number of highly specific and reproducible immunological assays for rapid and accurate diagnosis of an extensive list of diseases, including infectious diseases. The impact that MAbs have had in characterizing infectious disease pathogens, as well as their current and future applications for use in clinical microbiology laboratories, is reviewed. In addition, the advantages (and disadvantages) of the use of MAbs in a number of immunoassays, such as particle agglutination, radioimmunoassays, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, immunofluorescent-antibody assays, and immunohistology, are explored, including the use of these reagents in novel test system assays. Also, nucleic acid probe technology is compared with the use of MAbs from the perspective of their respective applications in the diagnosis of infectious disease agents. There is no question that hybridoma technology has the potential to alter significantly the methods currently used in most clinical microbiology laboratories.