An improved method for the detection of IgE antibody of defined specificity by ELISA using rat monoclonal anti-IgE antibody.

An improved method for the detection of IgE antibody of defined specificity by ELISA using rat monoclonal anti-IgE antibodies is described. The innovation consists of coating the plates first by a monoclonal rat anti-murine IgE antibody, adding the sera to this antibody-coated plates and then adding the biotin-conjugated antigen after the sera. The plates are then reacted with streptavidin-peroxidase and developed. This procedure eliminates possible competitions with other isotypes of the same specificity. The method is useful especially to quantitate IgE with defined specificity in the presence of high amounts of isotypes of the same specificity.