Characterization of antibody binding to cell surface antigens using a plasma membrane-bound plate assay

A procedure has been developed for measuring antibody binding to cell surface antigens using an immobilized plasma membrane fraction. In this method, isolated plasma membranes are dried onto wells of a 96-well microtiter plate and incubated with antibodies that recognize a cell surface protein. Bound antibody is detected indirectly using an enzyme-linked or fluorescently tagged second antibody. Alternatively, the primary antibody itself can be labeled and its binding can be detected directly. The assay is simple and fast and provides several advantages over whole cell binding assays currently in widespread use.