An evaluation of some factors important for maximising sensitivity of plant virus detection by immuno-electron microscopy.

We report the results of a comparison of the variations to the basic technique developed by Derrick and called 'serologically specific electron microscopy' by him. We have found that the reaction time of the antibody-coated grid with the virus preparation (virus acquisition time) is one of the key factors in determining the efficiency of the method at trapping virus particles. The lower the virus concentration, the longer the reaction time should be. The use of protein A to pretreat the grids before coating with antiserum did not appear to be of benefit under our conditions.