Comparison of sensitivities of ELISA and radioimmunoassay for detection of class-specific antibody in mouse serum.

The limits of detection of IgG1 antibody in a standard mouse antiserum by a single antiglobulin enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and 2 amplified systems, a double antiglobulin ELISA and a double antiglobulin radioimmunoassay (RIA), were compared in microtitration plates with the same antigen preparation and antisera. Compared with the single antiglobulin ELISA, both amplified assays demonstrated a 64-fold increase in sensitivity for the detection of antibody at high dilutions of standard antiserum. It is concluded that the amplified ELISA offers a safer assay than the amplified RIA and of equal sensitivity for comparable consumption of antisera.