An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method for the simultaneous measurement of antibody titer to multiple viral, bacterial or protein antigens.

A model enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) system was developed which permits the user to evaluate replicate single sera dilutions of 46 test and control serum samples for the presence of specific antibody against up to eight different antigens in one assay. The system makes use of a transplanting device for the simultaneous transfer of aliquots of independently diluted replicate test samples along with conjugate and substrate from a serum reservoir plate or from a reagent reservoir onto different antigen coated target plates. Kinetically read, raw absorbance data from tests are transmitted to a microcomputer, where absorbance values from all tests are quickly reduced to predicted titer levels by computer analysis. All titer computations involve the use of a single prescribed standard curve for predicting antibody titer against the different antigens. Between assay repeatability of this procedure is high and its potential for replacing a number of different conventional assays for epidemiological studies has been evaluated.