Advances in ELISA and other solid-phase immunoassays

Increased sensitivity and ease of performance have made solid-phase immunoassays increasingly popular. Freedom from the hazards of radioisotopes and the expensive equipment needed to measure them have helped to make the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) one of the fastest growing immunological tests used today. ELISA possesses equal and sometimes greater sensitivity than the solid-phase immunoradiometric assay (SPIRMA), but many of the rules that govern SPIRMA do not apply to ELISA and where they do they are often ignored. Papers from a meeting on developments in these techniques have just been published.