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7 tips to teach you how to choose ELISA kits

Time：

2023-05-16

There are various ELISA kits on the market, with varying quality. How to choose the best ELISA kits that meet the needs of research?

There are various ELISA kits on the market, with varying quality. How to choose the best ELISA kits that meet your research needs?

　　Elabscience teaches you seven tricks to quickly handle the selection of ELISA kits!

　　01 Find the protein concentration of the sample to be tested

　　Search SCI literature, Genecards, Mayocliniclabs, etc., to obtain the expression site and expression concentration reference value of the target protein, and compare whether the measured value of the sample given in the ELISA kit is consistent with the reference value.

　　02 Clarify the application species of the kit & the type of samples to be tested

　　Different manufacturers validate different types of samples. In general, different genera cannot be used in common unless the kit specifically states otherwise. Common sample types to be tested are: serum, plasma, cell supernatant, tissue homogenate, cell lysate, etc. Before the experiment, you need to judge whether the kit can meet the target protein detection of the target species.

　　03 Clarify the detection range of the kit

　　The detection range of the kit is the range of the standard curve. The standard curve range is not equivalent to the sample concentration range, so special attention should be paid to determine whether the concentration of the sample to be tested falls within the standard curve range. For samples with very high concentrations, it is recommended to find out the appropriate dilutions through pre-experiments before measuring a large number of samples.

　　04 Clarify the international quality control standards of the kit

　　1 Dilution linearity

　　Generally, it refers to the sample dilution linearity, i.e.: dilute the sample in a gradient and see whether the concentration of each dilution gradient becomes linear; for high concentration samples, it is recommended to choose the dilution multiple whose OD value falls in the middle of the standard curve range as the best dilution multiple.

　　2 Recovery

　　It is an indicator to evaluate the degree of convergence of the kit measurement results to the true value. Generally, a standard (recombinant protein) is added to the natural sample matrix and measured. Usually, a linearity and recovery range of 80%-120% is appropriate.

　　3 Natural sample assay

　　Ensure that the kit can detect natural samples and the appropriate sample type. Natural samples can be selected based on the nature of the target protein, e.g., serum, plasma, cell supernatant, urine, saliva, and milk.

　　4 Cross-reactivity

　　The specificity of the kit is assessed by cross-reactivity. The smaller the cross-reactivity, the better the specificity of the kit.

　　✔ Cross-reactivity with other proteins of the same family or structural analogues.

　　✔Cross-reactivity with other proteins of the same target in other species.

　　✔Cross-reactivity with common factors in serum.

　　5Interference test

　　Determine the effect of interactions between other molecules and antigen-antibody pairs. The greater the interference, the more inaccurate the value of the assay to be measured.

　　✔ Evaluate interference of target protein ligands.

　　✔ Evaluate interference from target protein receptors.

　　6 Stability

　　A criterion for determining the length of time a kit can be stored under specified conditions. Generally verified by thermally accelerated stability experiments.

　　✔ The kit is placed at 37°C for 7 days and compared to the same product placed at 4°C.

　　✔ The deviation of each performance test result should be <15%.

　　7 Accuracy

　　The criterion for evaluating the size of the error when the kit repeats the experiment. Usually expressed as CV. In general, the inter-batch and intra-batch coefficient of variation (CV) should be <15%.

　　8 Minimum detection limit

　　Determination criterion for the sensitivity of the reagent kit. The lower the value of the minimum detection limit, the more sensitive the kit. If the content of the index to be tested is very low, you need to choose a high-sensitivity ELISA kit.

　　ELISA kits on the market are often divided into three categories: low-end, mid-range and high-end, which are also generally defined by these eight quality controls:

05 Choose a brand with high reputation

　　When purchasing kits, we should try to choose brands with high brand awareness and reputation to ensure product quality while also receiving better pre-sales and after-sales services. Common foreign brands such as R&D, Abcam, and domestic brands such as Elabscience® have won important awards and high praise on the CiteAb, an authoritative award organization for life sciences. The platform is based on the number of citations and global impact of the product as the award evaluation index.

　　06 Choose a cost-effective product

　　Budget is also one of the factors in purchasing ELISA products. Choose a cost-effective product while ensuring the quality of the kit is reliable. Biology is an extremely rigorous science, and the accuracy of the experimental results is an essential factor in the evaluation of projects, articles, etc. If you cannot obtain or reproduce the results perfectly, you should choose a product that is cost-effective. If the experimental results cannot be perfectly obtained or reproduced, even with a low price, it is another waste of resources.

　　07 Select a brand with many citations in the literature

　　When selecting ELISA kits, the number of citations in SCI literature is the most valuable reference. This is also a very important indicator of the industry's recognition of the product. Especially when choosing a domestic brand, be sure to learn more about the brand's literature citations (total number & highest impact factor) and the brand's reputation in the industry. You can check in literature search engines such as Google scholar, and industry forums such as Dingxiangtong and Xiaomuwei.

　　Elabscience® - ELISA kits features

　　Large number of products: 1300+ ELISA kits, covering more than 10 research fields

　　Wide range of species: including human, mouse, rat, rabbit, monkey, pig, etc.

　　Wide range of specifications: 48T/96T/96T*5

　　Kit completeness: contains the complete set of reagents required for experiments, easy to use

　　High precision: intra-batch and inter-batch CV<10%

　　Good recovery: 80%~120%

　　High sensitivity: pg level

　　High specificity: cross-reactivity <10%

　　Literature support: 8000+ citations in SCI literature

　　Short delivery time: large quantity of stock, delivery within 2-3 working days