Detection of Listeria monocytogenes using polyclonal antibody

Abstract

Polyclonal antibody sensitive to Listeria was assayed for the detection of Listeria using two different methods, direct and sandwich enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs). The direct ELISA uses anti‐goat IgG antibody conjugated with horse‐radish peroxidase, while the sandwich ELISA uses two antibodies both specific to Listeria antigens, one coated onto the microtitre plate and the other conjugated to horse‐radish peroxidase. The results obtained show that the direct ELISA is superior to the sandwich ELISA in two distinct ways: (i) with direct ELISA the non‐Listeria gave readings <0.2, whereas with sandwich ELISA it gave readings of 0.3–0.4; (ii) the direct ELISA is more cost‐effective than the sandwich ELISA. Copyright © 1992, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved