Paper I
2024 March (Supplementary) (2019 Scheme) · 100 marks · 180 min

Question

Write the applications of ELISA test

Q84 marksShort Answers

Answer

Applications of ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay):

  1. Diagnosis of infectious diseases — detection of antigen or antibody for a wide range of infections, e.g., HIV (screening antibody/antigen test), Hepatitis B/C (HBsAg, anti-HCV), dengue (NS1 antigen, IgM/IgG antibody), and many other viral, bacterial, and parasitic infections.
  2. Screening of donated blood — mandatory ELISA screening of blood/blood products for HIV, HBV, HCV, and other transfusion-transmissible infections before transfusion.
  3. Detection and quantification of hormones — e.g., pregnancy testing (β-hCG), thyroid hormone assays, and other endocrine hormone measurements.
  4. Detection of tumour markers — e.g., alpha-fetoprotein, CA-125, PSA, used in cancer diagnosis/monitoring.
  5. Detection of autoantibodies — used in the diagnosis of autoimmune diseases (e.g., anti-dsDNA in SLE, anti-CCP in rheumatoid arthritis).
  6. Allergy testing — measurement of allergen-specific IgE.
  7. Vaccine/immunity assessment — measuring post-vaccination antibody titres to confirm seroconversion/immune status.
  8. Drug level/toxin detection — measurement of therapeutic drug levels and detection of specific toxins/food contaminants in research and public health settings.
  9. Research applications — quantification of cytokines and other biomolecules in immunological/biomedical research.

Advantages underlying its wide applicability: high sensitivity and specificity, ability to test large numbers of samples simultaneously (microtiter plate format), relatively rapid turnaround, and suitability for both qualitative and quantitative measurement.

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