Leinco Technologies COVID-19 ImmunoRank Neutralization MICRO-ELISA

The need to evaluate neutralising antibodies to fight the SARS-CoV-2 virus is at an all-time high, but current screening methods — including the plaque reduction neutralisation assay and other live virus cell-based tests — can require multiple days to complete. In the pursuit of another solution, Leinco Technologies collaborated with ADMA Biologics to develop the COVID-19 ImmunoRank Neutralization MICRO-ELISA — a 96-well ELISA-based assay for evaluating convalescent plasma and antibody therapies and determining the effectiveness of vaccines for COVID-19.

The fully validated assay is intended for use as an aid in identifying individuals with an adaptive immune response to SARS-CoV-2, indicating recent or prior infection, and detection of circulating SARS-CoV-2 neutralising antibodies of all Ig classes. SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain (RBD) specific antibodies can block angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) binding. RBD-specific neutralising antibodies have been identified in the plasma of convalescent COVID-19 survivors. Therefore, identifying high titre convalescent plasma is an important tool for the development of therapy. Monitoring serum for circulating SARS-CoV-2 neutralising antibodies during vaccine development to determine continued protective immunity would be another important application of the ImmunoRank assay.

With the ability to test up to 90 samples per test kit with 99.8% specificity, the assay should provide researchers with an important tool to develop therapies and vaccines to fight the war against SARS-CoV-2.