Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 3, 2025
Electrochemiluminescence Assays for Human Islet Autoantibodies
Published on: March 23, 2018
Technical Note: Bimodal Negative Interference of Biotin in Roche IL-6 Immunoassay
Amitava Dasgupta1, Samir Khalil2, Tiffany Paddock2
1Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Texas McGovern Medical School at Houston, USA Amitava.Dasgupta@uth.tmc.edu.
Insights
Biotin supplementation can interfere with Interleukin-6 (IL-6) testing in COVID-19 patients, potentially affecting treatment decisions. The Roche IL-6 assay showed negative interference, particularly at 100 ng/mL biotin levels.
Area of Science:
- Clinical Chemistry
- Immunology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a critical biomarker for managing COVID-19 patients, guiding decisions on tocilizumab therapy and mechanical ventilation.
- The Roche IL-6 assay uses biotinylated antibodies, raising concerns about potential interference from biotin supplementation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the interference of biotin on the Roche IL-6 assay.
- To determine the impact of biotin levels commonly found in patients on IL-6 measurements.
Main Methods:
- Serum pools with IL-6 levels >40 pg/mL were prepared.
- Pools were supplemented with varying biotin concentrations (25, 100, 1000 ng/mL).
- IL-6 levels were re-assayed using the Roche IL-6 assay on a Cobas e411 analyzer.
Main Results:
- Biotin demonstrated negative interference with the Roche IL-6 assay.
- Maximum negative interference occurred at 100 ng/mL biotin.
- No interference was observed at 25 ng/mL biotin, but interference was noted at 1000 ng/mL.
Conclusions:
- Biotin interference can impact IL-6 assay results.
- Assay results may be unreliable in patients taking biotin supplements.
- Careful consideration of biotin intake is necessary when interpreting IL-6 levels.
Objective:
Interleukin -6 (IL-6) is an important diagnostic test in COVID-19 patients to determine whether to initiate tocilizumab therapy or mechanical ventilation. We investigated potential interference of biotin in Roche IL-6 assay which utilizes biotinylated antibody.
Methods:
We prepared three serum pools from left-over specimens which showed IL-6 values over 40 pg/mL. Then aliquots of each serum pool were further supplemented with various amounts of biotin expected in patients taking biotin supplement and then IL-6 values were measured again using Roche IL-6 assay on the Cobas e411 analyzer.
Results:
We observed negative interference of biotin in IL-6 assay but interference was bimodal as maximum negative interference was observed with 100 ng/mL biotin but not with 1000 ng/mL. However, no interference was observed in the presence of 25 ng/mL biotin.
Conclusions:
Biotin showed negative interference with IL-6 assay.
More Related Videos
08:26Development and Validation of an Ultrasensitive Single Molecule Array Digital Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay for Human Interferon-α
Published on: June 14, 2018
09:25Detection and Enrichment of Rare Antigen-specific B Cells for Analysis of Phenotype and Function
Published on: February 16, 2017