HYDRAGEL IF PENTA

Immunofixation assay for direct screening of gammopathies

Test presentation

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

The HYDRAGEL 6 IF Penta and HYDRAGEL 12 IF Penta kits are designed for the direct detection of large majority of monoclonal proteins in human serum by immunofixation electrophoresis on alkaline buffered (pH 9.2) agarose gels.

Monoclonal bands could be hidden by regular proteins on each zone, therefore they can be missed by simple electrophoresis. To identify these abnormal bands, the technique of immunofixation is applied along with the classic electrophoresis.

The semi-automated HYDRASYS instrument performs migration, immunofixation and staining of the agarose gel for qualitative analysis.

Test principle

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

To detect the suspect monoclonal component(s), the samples are simultaneously electrophoresed in two tracks.

After the separation of serum proteins according to their charge, the gel is incubated:

On the ELP track with fixative solution, allowing the visualization of the complete serum protein pattern.
On the Penta track with pentavalent antiserum (Gamma- (IgG), Alpha- (IgA), Mu- (IgM) heavy chains, Kappa (κ) and Lambda (λ) free and bound light chains) allowing an immunological characterization.

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

Performances

Sensitivity:
- The minimal detection limit for monoclonal immunoglobulins is 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 pipetting station ASSIST.