Use of chicken and rabbit antibodies in a solid phase protein A radioimmunossay for virus detection.

A new rapid indirect solid phase radioimmunoassay was developed for the detection of Sindbis virus. Chicken antibodies were adsorbed onto wells in microplates to serve as 'capture antibodies' and rabbit antibodies were used as the second antibody. 125I-labelled protein A that does not bind to chicken antibodies, but binds firmly to rabbit antibodies was used as the tracer. All the steps necessary for the development of the assay are described. The minimal amount of Sindbis virus detectable was around 3 x 10(5) PFU/ml and the interassay reproducibility was about +/- 30%.