Question

Give the full form of ELISA. Which disease can be detected using it? Discuss the principle underlying the test.

Answer 1

Hint: The assay utilized a solid-phase type to detect the presence of a ligand (commonly a protein) throughout a liquid sample using antibodies directed against the protein to be calculated. It is a plate-based assay technique made for detecting and quantifying soluble substances.

Complete answer:
The full form of ELISA is an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. ELISA is the basic assay technique commonly used in analytical biochemistry assay. ELISA test is carried out to detect and measure antibodies, hormones, peptides, and proteins in the blood. ELISA functions on the principle that specific antibodies bind the target antigen and find the presence and quantity of antigens binding. In order to increase the sensitivity and precision of the assay, the plate must be coated with antibodies with high affinity. ELISA could have a useful measurement of antigen-antibody concentration.

There are two types of methods for ELISA
Single Antibody/Competitive binding method- the known quantity of enzyme-labeled antigen and an unknown quantity of unlabelled antigen is permitted to react with a specific antibody.

Double Antibody method/Sandwich method- the antigen which is to be analyzed is incubated with a specific antibody. Then a second antibody which is labeled with the enzyme is added which binds with an already bound antigen forming an antibody-antigen-antibody complex.

Application of ELISA- it's utilized in the clinical laboratory to live
1)All hormones in the serum.
2)It is used in tumor marker detection.
3)Antibodies in the serum are infectious diseases. Eg- antiviral antibodies and antibacterial antibodies.
4)It is an important aid for controlling serum antibody concentrations.
5)It is also useful within the food industry in detecting potential food allergens,
6)It is also used in toxicology as a rapid presumptive screen for certain classes of drugs.

Note: ELISA is also known as Enzyme ImmunoAssay, a commonly used analytical biochemistry assay. It has become one of the most widely used serological tests for antibody or antigen detection. ELISA was first discovered by Engvall and Perlmann in 1971.