Characterization of allergens and patient sera by a nitrocellulose immunoprint technique

A rapid and convenient protein-gel blot technique for qualitative detection of antigens/allergens in pollen allergen extracts and IgE/IgG antibodies in patient sera has been developed. The antigens were separated by isoelectric focusing in agarose gel and transferred to nitrocellulose by capillary migration. After incubation of the nitrocellulose strips with serum from allergic patients, the binding of the patient's specific IgE or IgG antibodies was analyzed by using isotope-labelled or enzyme-labelled anti-IgE or anti-IgG. The time needed for detection with isotope-labelled antibody was approximately 20 h and with enzyme-labelled antibody 2 h. The immunoprint technique is easy to use, which renders it suitable for routine use in allergy research and quality control.