immunoassays

[devaughn]

is there any similarities between enzyme linked immunosorbent (ELISA) and western blotting?

[CharonY]

Yes.

[zoe winslet]

Both ELISA and Western Blot are called indirect tests as they measure the immune system’s response to an infectious agent rather than looking for the components of the agent itself. Since ELISA detects HIV antibodies which the body starts to produce between 2-12 weeks after becoming infected with HIV, experts say that one should wait for at least 3 months after unprotected test to confirm for HIV AIDS. Western Blot is the most common method of testing to confirm positive results from ELISA test. Western Blot is used more as a confirmatory test as it is difficult to perform and requires high skills.

[CharonY]

Apart from the fact that this is a two-year old thread, it should be added that neither ELISA nor Western are exclusively used to measure antibodies. In fact they can (and often are) used to quantify anything that can be a antigen, including proteins other than immunoglobulins, peptides, hormones as well as other immunogenic biomolecules.