HYDRAGEL IF

Sensitive immunological characterization of immunoglobulins

Test presentation

Protein immunofixation is a well-established technique used to type any suspected monoclonal component previously detected by serum protein electrophoresis.

The HYDRAGEL IF kit allows the separation and characterization of immunoglobulins heavy and light chains using specific antisera.

The semi-automated HYDRASYS instrument performs migration, immunofixation and staining of the agarose gel for qualitative analysis. The sensitivity of HYDRAGEL IF assay enables the detection and identification of very small monoclonal components.

Test principle

The HYDRAGEL IF assay is based on the principle of agarose gel electrophoresis followed by immunofixation.

After the separation of serum proteins according to their charge, the gel is incubated with different specific antisera targeted against:

Gamma- (IgG), Alpha- (IgA), Mu- (IgM) heavy chains
Kappa (κ) and Lambda (λ) free and bound light chains.

The gel is then processed in order to remove the antisera excess prior to the final staining step. The gel is interpreted visually to type all immunoglobulins.

Performances

Sensitivity:
- The minimal detection limit for monoclonal immunoglobulins is about 120 mg/L for gels stained with acid violet and about 250 mg/L for gels stained with amidoblack. According to the mobility of the monoclonal component and polyclonal background, the sensitivity may vary.
Full traceability and positive ID are provided by connecting the HYDRASYS to the ASSIST pipetting station