In any case, learning about things that can be valuable in sciences that can improve quality of life and help in disease prevention and treatment is very important to us, increasing the quality of life for many. This is not to say that something like an immunoassay will completely change the face of how the disease affects people in a world-changing dynamic, but it can help to work our way towards ways in which common diseases are better treatable, this is what it does… basically. Read More vipleague
Immunoassays are very valuable in industry and life sciences. These tests are to be thanked for better treatment of diseases, safer food and water supplies, as well as advancements in research biologically.
There are many types of immunoassays and how they can be applied. Interested? Keep on reading or check out https://www.mybiosource.com/clia-kits for even more.
We cannot say the immunoassays have totally changed the way we handle things on a biological level, however, they have certainly improved things, and who is to say that there is no potential for further, potentially life-changing application.
What Is An Immunoassay?
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So, what is an immunoassay? Well, it is a type of biochemical test that is used to detect the presence of any particular amount of a specified chemical, like toxins and hormones in solutions using reactions between antibodies and antigens.
Antibodies are those Y-shaped proteins you find that are produced in our immune systems as a reaction to a foreign substance such as toxins, bacteria, and viruses.
They are antigen-specific, have binding places on their antibodies and antigens, and act a little bit like a key and lock system.
How do immunoassays work with this? Well, immunoassays use antibody-antigens bonding formation to identify any specific molecules inside a particular solution.
How to Classify Immunoassay?
There are many ways to classify these, so we will just look at one of these.
One of the primary ways is that a majority of immunoassays will use labels, whereas others are not known for doing this. Labeled ones will use a vast array of labels in order to detect and modify antibodies and antigens.
If an immunoassay is label-free then it will use other detection methods instead.
As we said, there are many other ways to classify them, but instead, we will move on and talk about the types of immunoassay
Types Of Immunoassay
There are many, but these are the most popular types.
Enzyme IA
This will use enzymes linked to antibodies to text the antigen-antibody compound using a reaction. They are used often because they are simple and very safe.
ELISA
This acronym means ‘Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay’, also known as EIA (see above).
Radio IA
This uses radioactive isotopes to label the complex. As it measures radioactivity it allows you to determine the amount of the compound. It was once popular, but it is not as common anymore as working with radioactive substances is not always safe.
Fluorescent IA
This uses fluorophores as a labeling method, thus measuring the fluorescence to determine the concentration present.
Chemiluminescent IA
This applied a combination of immunochemical reactions and chemiluminescence reactions. This means that to measure data and quantities light emission can be used.
Applications
It is easy to perform an immunoassay, and so this is very widely used.
The most common are as follows.
Drug monitoring and clinical diagnosis. This is basically the diagnosis and treatment of disease. They are used in diagnosing cancer, monitoring therapeutic drugs, and even pregnancy tests!
They can help to examine a reaction to treatments for things like cancer and even HIV. You even find these in drug tests.
They are also used in food testing. It is used to detect allergens and contaminants in foods. It can look for toxic chemicals, contamination by heavy metals, gluten, and even pathogens, such as the much known E. coli.
It is used in pharmaceuticals, being used in developments and research for drugs, including vaccines, and cell and gene therapy. It is also used for drugs that have been manufactured or extracted from a biological source.
It is also used in environmental monitoring too. Although this is a more recent development. It is used to detect contaminants in environments, much like it is used for this purpose in foods.
It can test for pesticides, toxic compounds, and PCB in groundwater and surface water. This is obviously essential for maintaining a safe environment and can be used in agriculture to protect crops from getting contaminated.
