Abstract

Immunoassays for infectious pathogens include the traditional radioimmunoassay and the more recent enzymelinked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). This allows numerous different configurations of antigen and antibody. Most immune assays use primary antibodies directed against specific epitopes of the infectious agent; the amount of primary antibody bound via a second antibody subsequently is quantitated by tagging with an easily identifiable marker. Effective immunoassays for certain infectious agents have been very difficult to develop, prompting investigators to search for alternatives in the design of rapid immunological tests.