USE OF DRIED SMOOTH LIPOPOLYSACCHARIDE ANTIGEN-COATED POLYSTYRENE PLATES FOR DIAGNOSIS OF BOVINE BRUCELLOSIS BY ENZYME-IMMUNOASSAY

Polystyrene plates (96 well) were sensitized with Brucella abortus smo oth lipopolysaccharide (SLPS) antigen and then air dried at room tempe rature (RT) for about 1 hour to dry. Dryness was judged complete when a buffer meniscus was absent from the bottom of the well. The plates w ere resealed kept on the bench at RT for the duration of the study. Te sting was done over 13 month by competitive and indirect ELISAs (C- an d IELISA) for bovine antibody to B. abortus using panels of sera from B. abortus S19 vaccinated, unexposed and infected cattle. Testing reve aled that consistent results were obtained over the test period sugges ting that air drying may be a suitable alternative for storage of plat es sensitized with some antigens, in particular, smooth lipopolysaccha ride.