A Virtual ELISA to Quantitate COVID-19 Antibodies in Patient Serum

Authors

Henry V. Jakubowski, College of Saint Benedict/Saint John's UniversityFollow
Kevin Simpson

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-2020

Disciplines

Biotechnology

Abstract

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) are used widely in biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and clinical medicine labs. At the same time, they appear to be underrepresented in chemistry and biochemistry curricula, even though their sensitivity, selectivity, and ease of use would argue for their widespread use. We describe here an online ELISA activity suitable for stand-alone use or in conjunction with an actual wet lab ELISA. Specifically, we offer real and mock data for a hypothetical ELISA to detect plasma antibodies to COVID-19 in infected patients who have had the disease. Much of the activity focuses on chemical and mathematical models to fit ELISA or any macromolecule/ligand binding data, a skill that addresses perhaps the most relevant and difficult learning goal of an ELISA experiment.

Comments

Published version: Simpson, K., & Jakubowski, H. V. (2020). A virtual elisa to quantitate covid-19 antibodies in patient serum. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education : A Bimonthly Publication of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 48(5), 467–468. https://doi.org/10.1002/bmb.21403

Copyright Statement

On copyright.

Recommended Citation

Jakubowski, Henry V. and Simpson, Kevin, "A Virtual ELISA to Quantitate COVID-19 Antibodies in Patient Serum" (2020). Chemistry Faculty Publications. 59.
https://digitalcommons.csbsju.edu/chemistry_pubs/59