Detection Methods Comparison Essay.

The direct ELISA uses the method of directly labeling the antibody itself. Microwell plates are coated with a sample containing the target antigen, and the binding of labeled antibody is quantitated by a colorimetric, chemiluminescent, or fluorescent end-point. Since the secondary antibody step is omitted, the direct ELISA is relatively quick, and avoids potential problems of cross-reactivity of the secondary antibody with components in the antigen sample. However, the direct ELISA requires the labeling of every antibody to be used, which can be a time-consuming and expensive proposition. In addition, certain antibodies may be unsuitable for direct labeling. Direct methods also lack the additional signal amplification that can be achieved with the use of a secondary antibody. Detection Methods Comparison Essay.

ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE

Indirect ELISA

The indirect, two-step method uses a labeled secondary antibody for detection. First, a primary antibody is incubated with the antigen. This is followed by incubation with a labeled secondary antibody that recognizes the primary antibody. For ELISA it is important that the antibody enzyme conjugate is of high specific activity. This is achieved when the antibody is affinity purified and the enzyme conjugation chemistry preserves antibody specificity as well as enzyme activity. (Top)

Direct Detection

Advantages of Direct Detection

Disadvantages of Direct Detection

Indirect Detection

Advantages of Indirect Detection

Disadvantages of Indirect Detection

Sandwich ELISA

The sandwich ELISA measures the amount of antigen between two layers of antibodies. The antigens to be measured must contain at least two antigenic sites, capable of binding to the antibody, since at least two antibodies act in the sandwich. For this reason, sandwich assays are restricted to the quantitation of multivalent antigens such as proteins or polysaccharides. Sandwich ELISAs for quantitation of antigens are especially valuable when the concentration of antigens is low and/or they are contained in high concentrations of contaminating protein.

To utilize this assay, one antibody (the “capture” antibody) is purified and bound to a solid phase typically attached to the bottom of a plate well. Antigen is then added and allowed to complex with the bound antibody. Unbound products are then removed with a wash, and a labeled second antibody (the “detection” antibody) is allowed to bind to the antigen, thus completing the “sandwich”. The assay is then quantitated by measuring the amount of labeled second antibody bound to the matrix, through the use of a colorimetric substrate. Major advantages of this technique are that the antigen does not need to be purified prior to use, and that these assays are very specific. However, one disadvantage is that not all antibodies can be used. Monoclonal antibody combinations must be qualified as “matched pairs”, meaning that they can recognize separate epitopes on the antigen so they do not hinder each other’s binding.

GenWay has successfully applied polyclonal IgY antibodies for development of sandwich ELISAs. The technology can expedite development of ELISA with certain throughput and low cost. The ELISA kits are good enough to reach detection senility at sub-nanogram per ml level and are useful for screening protein targets and quantifying their expression in different conditions. For higher detection sensitivity needed, monoclonal antibodies can be further introduced into the ELISA kit to pair with polyclonal IgY as either capture or detection antibodies.

The sensitivity of the sandwich ELISA is dependent on four factors:

Competitive ELISA

When two “matched pair” antibodies are not available for a target, another option is the competitive ELISA. The advantage to the competitive ELISA is that non-purified primary antibodies may be used. Although there are several different configurations for competitive ELISA, one reagent must be conjugated to a detection enzyme, such as horseradish peroxidase. The enzyme may be linked to either the antigen or the primary antibody. The example shown in Figure 1 is a labeled antigen as the competitor. In this type of ELISA, there is an inverse relationship between the signal obtained and the concentration of the analyte in the sample, due to the competition between the free analyte and the ligand-enzyme conjugate for the antibody coating the microplate, i.e. the more analyte the lower the signal.

Briefly, an unlabeled purified primary antibody is coated onto the wells of a 96 well microtiter plate. This primary antibody is then incubated with unlabeled standards and unknowns. After this reaction is allowed to go to equilibrium, conjugated antigen is added. This conjugate will bind to the primary antibody wherever its binding sites are not already occupied by unlabeled antigen. Thus, the more unlabeled antigens in the sample or standard, the lower the amount of conjugated antigen bound. The plate is then developed with substrate and color change is measured. Detection Methods Comparison Essay.

Multiplex ELISA

A logical progression of the widely used microtiter plate ELISA is toward a protein array format that allows simultaneous detection of multiple analytes at multiple array addresses within a single well. There are different types of multiplex ELISA have been developed and in practice. One of the examples is to measure antigens by coating or printing capture antibodies in an array format within a single well to allow for the construction of “sandwich” ELISA quantification assays. Generally, multiplex ELISA can also be achieved through antibody array, where different primary antibodies can printed on glass plate to capture corresponding antigens in a biological sample such as plasma, cell lysate, or tissue extract. Detection method can be direct or indirect, sandwich or competitive, labeling or non-labeling, depending upon antibody array technologies. Detection Methods Comparison Essay.