Our whitepaper was recently published on 24th November 2021 entitled, “COVID-19 antibody testing of patients admitted to the ICU By a novel, point-of-care assay, and the relationship to survival”. You can click here to read it in full.
We discuss the importance of antibody testing with the development of our rapid and accurate point-of-care assay for the measurement of IgG antibodies against the two spike proteins, S1 and S2, of the Sars-COV-2 virus.
So, what is an anti-body?
Also known as an Immunoglobin (Ig), it is essentially a protein produced by the body’s immune system when it detects an infection, bacteria or virus known as an antigen. Each antibody is unique and protects the body against one specific antigen.
There are 5 main types of antibodies which are classified into:
- IgG – This is the main antibody found in blood which has the ability to bind to bacteria and toxins, giving an important role to your biological defence system.
- IgM – This has a key role in the initial immune system defence for protecting the body.
- IgA – Mainly found in other bodily secretions than blood – such as breast milk which protects the gastrointestinal tract of newborn babies.
- IgD – Plays a role in antibody production and the prevention of respiratory tract infections.
- IgE – Believed to be involved in allergies such as pollinosis.
If an anti-body is found in your blood test, it means that you’re likely to have had an illness or virus before. Your body produces them when it’s trying to fight an infection or virus. The study of these antibodies has been useful for our studies of our assay development.
To quote the whitepaper: “The assay presented in this report seems to fulfil the requirement of sufficient sensitivity and specificity in the detection of an IgG response after a Sars-COV-2 infection and should be a better choice for these purposes than most qualitative lateral flow assays in doctor ́s office settings.”
The AgPlus assay showed a superior performance in this study with 100% specificity which means that no false positives were detected.
We have proven experience of working with organisations to develop fully quantitative diagnostic results. Our approach to assay development could enhance your business goals and we’d be delighted to work with you. Global demand for fast and quality point of care testing is constantly increasing for patients who want to take more control of their own health, matching the most effective treatment at the right time using their individual biomarkers. AgPlus has a diagnostic technology platform that can help to deliver just that. Contact us for more details today.
