Monoclonal Antibodies

Can be used diagnostically for:

-Pregnancy tests
-Diagnosing HIV
-Detecting the presence of pathogens
-Distinguishing between Herpes 1 and Herpes 2
-Blood typing before transfusions and tissue typing before transplants
-Detecting presence of antibiotics in milk
-Detecting cancer cells

ELISA tests:
-ELISA = enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay
-ELISA tests can be used to see if a patient has any antibodies to a certain antigen
E.g. – can be used to test for infections by pathogens or for allergies
-Enzyme attached to antibodies
-Enzyme reacts with substrate, coloured product formed, causing solution in reaction vessel to
change colour
-If a colour change occurs, this shows that the antigen or antibody of interest is present in the
sample being tested
-Direct = use a single antibody that is complementary to the antigen being tested for
-Indirect = use two different antibodies knows as primary and secondary antibodies