Elisa Reader And Washer Principle

Elisa stands for enzyme linked immunosorbent assay.

Elisa reader and washer principle.

In short it is an antibody test or a test for immune response to things attacking the body such as virus bacteria and allergens. The principle in elisa various antigen antibody combinations are used always including an enzyme labeled antigen or antibody and enzyme activity is measured colorimetrically. Elisa is a plate based assay technique. It can be manual system that washes one row or column at a time or semi automated systems that wash one strip or plate at a time or fully automated systems that can process multiple plates.

And a plate reader software is used to plot standard curves and calculate results. Along with the enzyme labelling of antigens or antibodies the technique involves following three principles in combination which make it one of the most specific and sensitive than other immunoassays to detect the biological molecule. A microplate washer is used to wash away non specific material in the wells and an absorbance elisa microplate reader detects the color change produced when target antigen is present. The enzyme activity is measured using a substrate that changes color when modified by the enzyme.

The illustration below shows a workflow for a typical sandwich elisa assay. What an elisa reader does. Readers need to have appropriate filter 650 nm and 450 nm. Are available as fixed as well as adjustable volume as well as single channel and multi channel.

This ability to wash away non specifically bound materials makes the elisa a powerful tool for measuring specific analytes within a crude preparation. The elisa reader reads the plate.