SYPH Ab
Enzyme ImmunoAssay (ELISA) for the determination of antibodies to Treponema pallidum (Tp) in human plasma and sera. The kit may be used for the screening of blood units and the follow-up of Tp-infected patients.
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease caused by Treponema pallidum or Tp, bacterium belonging to the family of Spirochaetaceae. Tp is gram negative and is considered strictly anaerobe, exhibiting a characteristic mobility due to periplasmic flagella. A cell wall and a cytoplasmic membrane enclose the cytoplasmatic content.
Syphilis is a complex, acute, chronic infectious disease with diverse clinical manifestations, depending upon the stage of infection and the individual response. The period of incubation ranges from 10 days to 3 months and antibodies are usually detected after 2-4 weeks from the primary lesion.
Many assays have been developed for the immunological detection of the T.pallidum infection in the past (VDRL, TPHA, RPR) still currently in use at the diagnostic laboratory.
Recently, ELISA techniques have been applied to syphilis antibody screening in blood banks and Infectious Disease Departments, allowing the clinicians to use automatic analysis instruments and optical reading records.
Microplates are coated with purified Treponema pallidum synthetic antigens, derived from immunodominant protein of the bacterium..
The solid phase is first treated with the diluted sample and captures antibodies if present. After the washing step, the specifically bound antibodies are detected with an anti-human IgG&M antibody, labeled with peroxidase (HRP).
A substrate/chromogen solution is added and the intensity of the color developed by the bound enzyme is proportional to the amount of anti-Tp antibodies in the sample.
Results are evaluated against a cut-off value able to discriminate Treponema pallidum antibody negative individuals from positive ones.
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