Comparison of antibody elution techniques by enzyme-linked antiglobulin test.

The enzyme-linked antiglobulin test was used to determine the percentage of antibody removed from sensitized red cells by five elution methods: Rubin ether, xylene, digitonin-acid, glycine, and heat. Antibodies examined in the study included anti-D, -c, -E, and -K. With two examples of anti-D, more antibody was eluted by the Rubin ether method (45.5% average) than the xylene (38%) or the digitonin acid method (35%) (p less than 0.05); the glycine (8%) and heat method (15%) were less efficient. With one example of anti-E and one example of anti-c, more antibody was eluted by the ether method. The percentage of anti-K recovery, however, was greater with the digitonin acid method (45%) than with the ether (30%). We found the enzyme-linked antiglobulin test method useful in the quantitative evaluation of elution procedures.