Analytical evaluation of a new latex agglutination test for quantitative determination of C-reactive protein by laser nephelometry.

A new reagent for the rapid and reliable quantitative determination of C-reactive protein (CRP), using polystyrene particles coated with antibodies against CRP, is now available. We present an analytical evaluation of this new test system. The analytical characteristics of sensitivity, linearity, precision and specificity are excellent. Samples from patients with various inflammatory conditions were tested. Correlation between the examined technique and current methods such as radial immunodiffusion, classical laser nephelometry and enzyme immunoassay were excellent.