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== Principle of flow-through tests ==
Flow-through assays are by principle binding assays.<ref name="Valkirs" /> In practice they are mostly applied to detect the interaction of an [[antibody]], as from a sample of the test subject's blood, with immobilized [[antigen]]s, resulting in the formation of an antigen-antibody complex.{{cn|date=July 2016}} However, other types of capture-assays are technically feasible, including small molecule capture-assays or antigen tests.<ref name="Valkirs" /> Flow-through assays for the detection of [[mycotoxins]], based on [[enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay|ELISA]], have been available since the 1980s and can be used in field analyses.<ref name="Zheng">{{cite journal | last=Zheng | first=Michael Z. | last2=Richard | first2=John L. | last3=Binder | first3=Johann | title=A Review of Rapid Methods for the Analysis of Mycotoxins | journal=Mycopathologia | volume=161 | issue=5 | year=2006 | pages=261–273 | pmid= 16649076 | doi=10.1007/s11046-006-0215-6 }}</ref>
Flow-through tests typically come in the form of cassettes divided into four parts: an upper casing, a reactive membrane panel, an absorbent panel, and a lower casing.<ref name="overview">{{cite web|title=Flow-through tests, an overview|url=http://sites.path.org/dx/rapid-dx/technologies/flow-through/|publisher=PATH|accessdate=4 July 2016}}</ref> To perform a test, a diluted sample is applied to the reactive membrane panel and flows through to the absorbent pad, with the target analyte being captured in the membrane.<ref name="overview"/><ref name="works">{{cite web|title=Flow-through: how it works|url=http://sites.path.org/dx/rapid-dx/technologies/flow-through/how-it-works/|publisher=PATH|accessdate=4 July 2016}}</ref> The membrane is then washed to remove unbound, non-target molecules, washed again with a solution containing a signal reagent, and washed again to remove unbound signal reagent.<ref name="overview"/><ref name="works"/> If the analyte was present in the original sample, then by the end of this process it should be bound to the membrane, with the signal reagent bound to it, revealing (usually visually) the presence of the analyte on the membrane.<ref name="overview"/><ref name="works"/>
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