Lab 12 e
- 1. Lab # 12: ELISA Immuno Explorer Dr. Ricardo Chiesa The purpose of this laboratory is to determine who has been exposed to a contagious disease and track the disease back to its source. For this, we used ELISA that simulates the sharing of body fluids. ELISA relies on antibodies to detect the presence of a disease (antigens) in liquid samples. Antigens result from an immune response that the body mounts when exposed to a disease. Antibodies are proteins that recognize the antigen and bind to it; each antibody recognizes a single antigen. First students shared their samples randomly followed by ELISA. That involved petting primary and secondary antibodies to determine who has the disease and who transferred the disease. Our results demonstrated that students 1, 2, 8, and 10 were infected with the disease whereas students 1 and 10 transmitted the disease. In the real world ELISA is used for pregnancy tests, disease detection in plants and animals, detecting illegal drug use, and testing air quality. Also it is applied in tests for bacteria food safety and for genetically modified organisms (GMOs).