What are immunoassays?
Immunoassays are biochemical tests that rely on antibodies (a special type of protein) to bind to specific molecular structures (antigens). They have been around for over 40 years and are used in hospitals, labs, clinics and research settings every day. They are simple, reliable and relatively economical tests for the detection of many substances and disease conditions. How do immunoassays work? An immunoassay is an analytical technique that relies on the specificity between an antibody and its complementary antigen to measure the concentration of either of these two species in a reaction mixture. The product of such reactions can subsequently be detected by using a variety of labels, such as fluorescence, luminescence or enzyme/substrates. Through clever design using a combination of reactive agents and special color dyes, tests can be created that indicate the presence (or absence) of a specific substance. This has been the basis for many simple tests used in hospitals, laboratories
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