Nucleic Acid (Page 2)

Antibody tests are a method of choice to determine if a person has been exposed to a pathogen or not.  They are also incredibly valuable in the detection of autoantibodies that can be found in human autoimmune disorders.  In this test, a biotinylated antigen (User supplied) is mixed with a biotinylated rabbit IgG (bind to goat anti rabbit control line) and sample (human sera or plasma) is simply mixed into with the specially designed assay running buffer in a well of the supplied 96-well plate, mixed and is then added to the sample port of the cassette.  Generally, the reaction is complete in 10-15 minutes.  It is very important to note that the relative stoichiometry between the biotinylated antigen, biotinylated rabbit IgG added, and the streptavidin gold is critical for assay optimization.  The appropriate concentration of biotinylated antigen to use with strips is dependent upon the purity and sequence and a standard curve can be used to determine the relative ratio (generally between 1ng-100ng per test).  A positive control line (biotin-rabbit IgG) antibody will bind to the goat anti rabbit (GAR) line on the test to ensure the assay is running appropriately.