A new approach to detection of incomplete antibodies using hydrogel chromatography medium.

In assays for incomplete antibody detection, several washing steps are required to remove unbound globulins which may cause false negatives. Here, we present an improved approach employing hydrogel chromatography medium (HCM) in the detection of incomplete antibodies. After a rapid single-step centrifugation, incomplete antibodies, attached to red blood cells (RBCs), were separated from the reaction mixture using HCM and sedimentation. This method obviates the need for multiple centrifugation steps found in conventional Tube-Coombs tests. The HCM-Coombs tests may have a wide range of applications for incomplete antibody detection.