ENZYME-LINKED IMMUNOSORBENT ASSAY-BASED INHIBITION TEST FOR NEUTRALIZING ANTIBODIES TO POLIOVIRUSES AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE NEUTRALIZATIONTEST IN TISSUE-CULTURE

A poliovirus-binding inhibition test (PoBI test) was established for t he quantitative determination of antibodies to polioviruses and was ev aluated in comparison with the conventional neutralization test (NT). The first step of the PoBI test is an incubation of serial dilutions o f test samples with inactivated poliovirus followed by the detection o f free viral epitopes by a double antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immu nosorbent assay with type-specific capture polyclonal antisera and typ e-specific neutralizing monoclonal indicator antibodies. A comparison of the PoBI test with the conventional NT for antibodies to all three types in 100 human serum samples showed excellent correlations (r > 0. 95) over a nide range of antibody concentrations. The PoBI test, not n ecessitating live virus and tissue culture facilities, could be a simp le alternative to the NT, and the principle df the assay is potentiall y applicable to other microbial systems.