As a nursing student, especially one studying pathology and diagnostics, learning about the ELISA method is crucial for your curriculum. It is an essential skill to learn as a professional medical care provider. But what is the ELISA method? And what are its applications? To put it simply, the ELISA method is associated with diagnostic testing and sample analysis.
So, let’s take a closer look at its methodology and how it is performed. If you’re a nursing student in the UK struggling to understand how to perform the ELISA method, you can always reach out to us at Digi Assignment Help. We provide detailed nursing assignment support for UK university students.
What Is The ELISA Method?
The ELISA method, which stands for Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, is a diagnostic process used to detect and assess levels of hormones, antigens, proteins, and antibodies in bodily fluid samples such as blood, cerebrospinal fluid, urine, plasma, and saliva. It is considered the gold standard of immunoassays as it is a highly sensitive test with use cases in research and quality control.
The ELISA method can be used to diagnose conditions like bacterial and viral infections as well as chronic endocrine conditions like thyroid problems. One of the easiest examples of the ELISA model in action is home pregnancy tests. They determine the presence of a hormone called Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin (HCG) in urine.
What Are The Principles of The ELISA Method?
The underlying principle of the ELISA model lies in understanding how immunoassays work. These tests work based on the interaction of antigens and antibodies in a laboratory setting.
Before you learn more let’s understand what antibodies and antigens are. Antibodies are created by the immune system in your body to target foreign substances and organisms in your body with the aim of expelling them. Antigens are markers that help your immune system identify foreign substances, and then the immune system sends antibodies to eliminate the threats. Antigens are generally proteins or sugars found on the viruses or the surface of cells.
The presence of antigens and antibodies supports the presence of underlying medical conditions or infections, and that’s what is checked using the ELISA method.
Based on the test being performed a special testing plate is either coated with the antigens or an antibody. In the next step a matching antibody with an enzyme in it is added to the plate. Then a chemical substrate is added, which helps in the colour change of the sample. The stronger the colour or colour change, it proves the greater amount of the substance in the sample, which can be viruses, proteins, or hormones.
The test results allow doctors to understand that underlying cause of the findings and provide a thorough diagnosis for patients. As a nursing student in the UK, if this seems a little complicated, it is. Let’s look at the next section on how the ELISA method is performed to better understand.
How Is The ELISA Method Performed?
Understanding how the ELISA method is put into practice is crucial for your curriculum as a nursing student. So, if you’re struggling with this part, feel free to reach out to our experts for nursing essay help.
- A special plate is coated with an antigen or antibody in a laboratory setting.
- The plate is blocked on unbound sites to ensure there’s no nonspecific binding.
- The sample is then added onto the specially prepared plate, which is being tested.
- Based on the type of test and sample, an enzyme-linked antibody is added to the plate.
- As the last step, a chemical substrate is added to the plate for colour change or development
- Based on the colour change or its amount, observations are made using a microplate reader.
- This completes the process, and doctors then create a report based on the general guidelines and their interpretations of the findings.
This whole process doesn’t take a long time and if you’re interested in becoming a midwife in the UK, you must be able to understand how to assess ELISA results. Now that you know about the methodology and the process, let’s understand the real-world applications of the ELISA method.
What Are The Applications of The ELISA Method?
The ELISA method has far-reaching real-world applications beyond at-home pregnancy tests. From cancer screenings to veterinary diagnostics, there are a lot of cases of this method being used. So, as a nursing student, it is crucial that you know about each of these applications clearly. The most common applications of the ELISA method are as follows:
- Diagnostic Testing: The ELISA method is regularly used to diagnose viral or bacterial infections in the human body. Conditions like HIV, dengue, COVID-19, hepatitis, and even tuberculosis are all diagnosed using this method.
- Endocrine Conditions: Hormone testing is also an everyday use case of the ELISA method, with tests like insulin, TSH (for thyroid), and hCG (for pregnancy) being commonly used. These tests are used to check for the level of a specific hormone in your body.
- Allergy Tests: Common allergies such as food allergies or pollen allergies are tested using the ELISA method. The sample is tested against the allergen for a reaction, which could indicate an active allergy.
- Food Safety: For consumer food products, government regulations often require manufacturers to get independent food safety test results. This is done to detect any allergens or pathogens in the food product.
- Cancer Screening: Certain cancer markers like PSA and CA-125 can be identified using the ELSA method, making this test a lifesaver for cancer screening.
- Veterinary Testing: The same benefits this method provides for human testing are extended to pets as well.
Conclusion
This concludes your guide on the ELISA method, its principles, procedures, and applications. It is important to understand this concept well, as it is crucial to gain good grades in your curriculum. For more information about the ELISA method, check out Digi Assignment Help. Our experts can help you with your nursing dissertation topics as well as other assignments regarding the ELISA methodology or other nursing concepts. Check out their website and request a quotation today.
