immunoassay
Sign in to saveAn immunoassay (IA) is a biochemical test that measures the presence or concentration of a macromolecule or a small molecule in a solution through the use of an antibody (usually) or an antigen (sometimes). The molecule detected by the immunoassay is often referred to as an "analyte" and is in many cases a protein, although it may be other kinds of molecules, of different sizes and types, as long as the proper antibodies that have the required properties for the assay are developed. Analytes in biological liquids such as serum or urine are frequently measured using immunoassays for medical and
Key facts
- Medical intervention.Name
- Immunoassay
- Medical intervention.Image
- Immunoassay.svg
- Medical intervention.Caption
- Illustration of the basic components of an immunoassay, which includes an analyte (green), an antibody (black), and a detectable label (yellow)
- Medical intervention.MeshID
- D007118
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- Immunoassays
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Article
22 sectionsContents
- Principle
- History
- Labels
- Enzymes
- Radioactive isotopes
- DNA reporters
- Fluorogenic reporters
- Electrochemiluminescent tags
- Label-free immunoassays
- Classifications and formats
- Competitive, homogeneous immunoassays
- Competitive, heterogeneous immunoassays
- One-site, noncompetitive immunoassays
- Two-site, noncompetitive immunoassays
- Examples
- Clinical tests
- Sports anti-doping analysis
- Research
- Photoacoustic Immunoassay
- See also
- References
- External links
An immunoassay (IA) is a biochemical test that measures the presence or concentration of a macromolecule or a small molecule in a solution through the use of an antibody (usually) or an antigen (sometimes). The molecule detected by the immunoassay is often referred to as an "analyte" and is in many cases a protein, although it may be other kinds of molecules, of different sizes and types, as long as the proper antibodies that have the required properties for the assay are developed. Analytes in biological liquids such as serum or urine are frequently measured using immunoassays for medical and research purposes.
Immunoassays come in many different formats and variations. Immunoassays may be run in multiple steps with reagents being added and washed away or separated at different points in the assay. Multi-step assays are often called separation immunoassays or heterogeneous immunoassays. Some immunoassays can be carried out simply by mixing the reagents and samples and making a physical measurement. Such assays are called homogeneous immunoassays, or less frequently non-separation immunoassays.