Accuracy And Sensitivity Is Attainable Using Elisa Test Kits

By Sally Delacruz


There has been invented a new method of detecting antigens and other unwanted materials in a liquid or wet sample. Researchers usually look at color change within the samples to decipher whether foreign substances exist in the sample or not. A solid-phase enzyme, immunoassay, and the Elisa test kits are the main components of this test.

These kits are always made with the purpose of providing accuracy and consistency in research results. They are therefore required to be sensitive, easy to follow, precise and specific to individual tests. This can be easily achieved through rigorous testing. The testing may involve validating with many samples from, serum, saliva, feces and urine.

The main reason for manufacturing these kits is enhancement of consistency and accuracy by way of promoting visibility. Devices used in testing, therefore, have to be easy to understand and sensitive to changes in the reagents. They also have to be specific to certain tests and must also be precise. Rigorous testing is a very important exercise in ensuring that the kits satisfy all these requirements.

The kits help a great deal in hastening research. A device that is not capable of delivering the sensitivity and the required reproducibility in long-term researches is normally not appropriate. Such equipment is, therefore, costly and unaffordable to the buyer. Those who wish to buy it should take utmost care while buying it; most of them are defective.

In manufacturing these tools, many other things, on top of antibodies, are needed. The researcher needs to screen a lot of antibodies, appropriately select standards, come up with effective steps of preparing samples and validate essays using appropriate matrices. All these need to be done for effectiveness.

The kits are capable of detecting items that are present in low concentrations for the sake of diagnosing and treating a number of diseases during their early stages. It has, previously been used in diagnosing different types of illnesses in both animals and plants. This technology has also been used for ensuring quality control in many industries.

This process involves putting antigens onto a surface, and then applying specific antibodies onto them. Specific substrates are then added to this combination of antibodies and antigens. Results are always in form of color change.

When the kits are used in carrying out the same test, the tools on the kit are dipped into a test tube of samples collected. The set-up is then washed and then incubated in chromogens. The kit itself is made up of rods with about twelve ogives that protrude. The process of washing and incubating normally occurs when the ogive is immersed in small wells made of micro-plates containing reagents.

It is always practical to use various reagents with the equipment. Hence, detecting various antibodies and antigens is also a possibility. To do this, the Ogive has to be sensitized to the different reagents. Another way of improving the sensitivity of the devices is through increasing the amount of reagents used. The sensitivity used can be either environmental or clinical.

The ability of these testing tools to establish the quantity of antibodies has been applied in testing for HIV and other immune deficiency related diseases. When few antibodies are observed in the body, then the victim is declared HIV positive. The fact that they are portable also contributes heavily towards making Elisa kits popular. Care has to be taken while buying them; most manufacturers do not pay attention to quality.




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