What is an Elisa Kit?

The acronym Elisa stands for Enzyme Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay. Simply defined, it is an
easy laboratory procedure used for the purposes of testing for the presence of antigens or
antibodies in some sample. Elisa may also be referred to as EIA, Enzyme-linked ImmunoAssay.
Elisa is used in plant pathology however, it is also commonly used in human medicine more so
immunology. The Elisa kit is especially used in testing for the presence of anti bodies in the
blood samples of HIV positive individuals. To test for the presence of antibodies and the antigens
especially in human plasma or serum, an Elisa kit is necessary.

There are two important Elisa kits, these are the prolactin Elisa and the CEA Elisa kits. The
Anogen Company produces the prolactin kit. This particular kit, may be defined as an enzyme
immunoassay kit that is used for the purposes of quantitatively determining the concentration of
the Human Prolactin PRL, in the serum. Prolactin Elisa allows for the quantitative determination
of the various hormones in the body fluids that are protein based on a regular basis. Using the
prolactin Elisa, an assay that is not only rapid but also sensitive, specific and accurate results are
provided. Again, by using prolactin Elisa, it becomes possible to assess small volumes of serum,
for instance, 0.1 Ml, low concentrations of human prolactin (hPRL). Thus, the prolactin kit is
very handy.

There is also the CEA Elisa kit. The CEA acronym stands for Carcino Embryonic Antigen. Thus,
the CEA kit is used for purposes of quantitatively measuring the carcinogenic embryonic
antigens present in human plasma or serum. Primarily, the CEA Elisa allows the human carcino
embryonic antigen that may be present in human serum to be directly, in vitraly quantitatively
determined. CEA is present in various forms of cancer, more so rectal and colon (large intestine)
cancers. Still, it is also possible to find it present in those patients who may be suffering from
lung, breast and pancreatic cancers. One does not have to discard the CEA kit after single use for
the simple fact that every single test kit holds within it enough material for 96 determinations.
There are inherent benefits to using CEA Elisa. First is the fact that the procedure is relatively
simple. Secondly, just like the prolactin Elisa, the assay is specific. Again, CEA is also regarded
as highly efficient and flexible. During testing, it is possible to analyze more than one human
serum sample. The CEA kit provides for high quality cost effective analysis and at very
competitive prices.

Therefore, when one may seek to test human serum either for the presence of prolactin or for the
carcinogenic embryonic antigens, Elisa tests, which make use of the Elisa kits, are imperative.
One big advantage of the Elisa kits, be they testing for prolactin or CEA, is that they give good
value for money. While it is a given that the kits may be obtained from hospitals, it is also
possible to order the kits online.