An enzyme immunoassay for dengue antibody using infected cultured mosquito cells as antigen.

A simple enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for dengue virus antibody detection used infected tissue culture cells as antigen. C6/36 Aedes albopictus cells infected with dengue virus, and uninfected control cells were fixed with 3.3% formalin. This technique eliminated microplate coating and laborious antigen preparation, and it facilitated rapid screening of large numbers of sera. Formalin also inactivated dengue virus infectivity. Microplates prepared by this technique could be stored at -20 or -70 degrees C for at least two months. Human sera were adsorbed with C6/36 cells prior to testing in the EIA in order to reduce nonspecific binding to C6/36 cells.