New enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for glycocalicin in plasma

A new sandwich-type enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for quantifying glycocalicin, a proteolytic fragment of platelet membrane glycoprotein Ib, is described. The assay is based on the use of two monoclonal antibodies raised against glycoprotein Ib and involves the avidin-biotin technique. The detection limit is 7 micrograms/L and the range of glycocalicin determined in plasma is 0.01 to 1 mg/L. Assay time is 2 h. The intra-assay CV ranged from 3.6% to 5.2%, the interassay CV from 5.4% to 8.0%. Analytical recovery of purified glycocalicin added to a plasma pool averaged 96%. In 36 healthy subjects, the mean glycocalicin concentration in plasma was 0.36 (SD 0.07) mg/L (2.7 nmol/L). We conclude that this assay is suitable for measuring glycocalicin in plasma and is also more sensitive and precise than the previously published immunoassays based on competitive binding assay.