SEPARATION, WASHING AND DETERMINATION OF ANALYTES TAGGED WITH MAGNETIC PARTICLES

摘要

A method for detecting a material of interest, usually an antibody or an antigen on a red blood cell, in a liquid. The method involves the use of magnetically tagged reagents in a reaction mixture which contains red blood cells and is suspected of containing the material of interest, to produce a magnetically tagged reaction' product. The magnetic product and magnetic starting materials are directed by magnetic propulsion to, and deposited on, a paramagnetic capture element or substrate in a capture vessel. The deposit will exhibit different properties depending upon whether or not the antigen/antibody reaction has taken place. A deposit of the antigen/antibody reaction product adheres tenaciously to itself and the substrate while the deposit of any unreacted magnetically tagged material is weakly adhering. This difference in cohesive property provides the means by which a positive result is distinguished from a negative result.