Bio-Rad Laboratories Bio-Plex Pro Human IgA and IgM SARS-CoV-2 immunoassay panels

Bio-Rad Laboratories has announced the Bio-Plex Pro Human IgA and IgM SARS-CoV-2 panels to detect IgA and IgM antibodies against four SARS-CoV-2 antigens: the nucleocapsid protein (N) and the receptor binding domain (RBD), and the spike 1 (S1) and spike 2 subunits (S2) of the spike protein. Designed for research use only (RUO), the Bio-Plex Pro Human IgA SARS-CoV-2 S1/S2/N/RBD 4-Plex Panel and the Bio-Plex Pro Human IgM SARS-CoV-2 S1/S2/N/RBD 4-Plex Panel join the existing Bio-Plex Pro Human IgG SARS-CoV-2 N/RBD/S1/S2 4-Plex Panel to complete the set of three separate qualitative multiplex immunoassays to provide precise and efficient detection of antibodies.

The multiplex immunoassay panels assist researchers in developing vaccines and also help public health researchers who perform seroprevalence studies based on serology specimens to identify individuals who may have been exposed to SARS-CoV-2. The panels help vaccine developers determine therapeutic efficacy, from development through clinical phases and then later on in postmarket surveillance studies. Detecting levels of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in an individual provides valuable information about possible exposure rates in a population or about the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in preventing the spread of disease.

The IgA, IgG and IgM SARS-CoV-2 panels are ready-to-use 96-well kits containing premixed magnetic capture beads, an isotype-specific detection antibody, positive and negative controls, and buffers, to produce results for four anti–SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Individual components such as viral antigen–coupled beads are offered as singleplex assay reagents for multispecies assay development that enables measurement of antibodies against specific viral antigens of interest while improving research laboratory efficiency. The panels enable comparison of median fluorescence intensity (MFI) values of samples to help researchers and vaccine developers understand the strength of response and antibody levels at different time points after SARS-CoV-2 infection or vaccination. Results are provided in <3 h.