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Passive (indirect) agglutination

Definition

An agglutination format in which a soluble antigen or antibody is adsorbed or covalently linked to a carrier particle (latex bead, tanned red cell, or colloidal gold). Crosslinking of coated particles by the corresponding antibody or antigen produces the same visible clump as direct agglutination, extending the principle to any molecule that can be attached to a surface.

Related terms

Agglutination titre
The reciprocal of the highest dilution of a serum or antigen solution at which visible agglutination still occurs. A titre of 1:64...
Antiglobulin (Coombs) test
A two-stage assay that detects IgG antibodies bound to red blood cells. The direct test detects in-vivo cell-bound IgG; the indirect test...
Hemagglutination
Agglutination specifically involving red blood cells as the antigen-bearing particles. Direct hemagglutination occurs when antibodies bind surface antigens naturally present on red...
Low-ionic-strength saline (LISS)
A reaction medium with reduced salt concentration used to enhance agglutination sensitivity, particularly for IgG antibodies. Lowering ionic strength reduces the electrostatic...
Prozone (hook) effect
A false-negative agglutination result caused by antibody excess. When antibody molecules outnumber antigen sites, each site is occupied by a single antibody...

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