Invitrogen™ IgM Rat Uncoated ELISA Kit with Plates

Description

The Rat IgM Uncoated ELISA Kit contains pre-matched antibody pairs and reagents for performing quantitative enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) to detect and quantify protein levels of rat IgM. Wash Buffer and Stop Solution are needed to complete the ELISA reaction and are sold separately. Principle of the method ELISAs are designed to measure the amount of the target bound between a matched antibody pair. A target-specific antibody is coated to the bottom of the wells of a microplate, which is an overnight process. Samples, standards, or controls are then added into these wells and bind to the immobilized (capture) antibody. A sandwich is formed by the addition of the second (detector) antibody, a substrate solution is added that reacts with the enzyme-antibody-target complex to produce measurable signal. The intensity of this signal is directly proportional to the concentration of target present in the original specimen.

Immunoglobulin M is the third most common serum Ig and can exist as pentamer where all heavy chains are identical and all light chains are identical or as a monomer (e.g. found on B lymphocytes as B - cell receptors). The large pentameric structure allows for building of bridges between encountered epitopes on molecules that are too distant as to be connected by smaller IgG antibodies. IgM is built as the first antibody during an immune response and is responsible for agglutination and cytolytic reactions since its pentameric structure gives it 10 free antigen binding sites in theory and it posseses a high avidity. Due to conformational constraints among the 10 Fab portions, IgM only has a valence of 5. Additionally, IgM is not as versatile as IgG, but it is of vital importance in complement activation and agglutination. IgM is predominantly found in the lymph fluid and the blood and is a very effective neutralizing agent in the early stages of disease. Elevated levels can be a sign of recent infection or exposure to antigen.