Augmentation of the sensitivity of immunoprecipitation reactions. Test under oblique lighting on a black background of arcs stained with Coomassie blue, applied to the detection of the specificity of the HBe system in hepatitis B
Rioche, M.
Annales de Biologie Clinique 43(2): 133-135
1985
ISSN/ISBN: 0003-3898 PMID: 3935014 Document Number: 255159
Gel immunoprecipitation reactions (double immuno-diffusion) are the only techniques capable of identifying the specificity of the HBe systems of hepatitis B. These techniques were studied after rinsing of the gels without staining (LD) and after desiccation and staining with Coomassie blue. The stained plates were examined on a light background (CB) and on a dark background with an oblique light beam (CN). This process (CN) results in bright red precipitation arcs on a black background and, because of its increased sensitivity, detects a greater number of "HBe positive" sera than the "LD" and "CB" examinations and also frequently reveals the presence of 2 or 3 HBe antigen or antibody specificities, which are not apparent on the other two examinations. The "CN" examination also allows a better resolution of the precipitation arcs due to the increased contrast, enabling the confirmation of the specificity of certain arcs which appear doubtful on the other two tests.