Monoclonal hybridoma antibodies against human IgE and their use in a rapid and sensitive enzyme immunoassay for the semiquantitative assessment of total IgE levels in human blood.

A simple semiquantitative enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for the rapid estimation of IgE levels in specimens of human blood, plasma or serum is described. The test requires little labour input and does not require highly trained personnel or instrumentation. By using two monoclonal antibodies of different anti-IgE specificities it is possible, with a single incubation of 20 min at ambient temperature, to detect elevated IgE levels (greater than or equal to 333 IU/ml) within a total test time of 25 min, and low levels of IgE (less than or equal to 10 IU/ml) within 35 min. For diagnosis of elevated/normal IgE levels only, a single incubation of 10 min. at ambient temperature may be used with a total test time of less than 20 min. The EIA system utilizes glass capillary tubes and urease-labelled antibodies, a system that has proven satisfactory in other applications.