UTILIZATION OF USED HUMAN-IMMUNODEFICIENCY-VIRUS ELISA MICROPLATES AND SURPLUS REAGENTS FOR HIV ANTIBODY TESTING

Used non-competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) micropl ates were washed and reused to test samples and positive and negative controls, utilising the surplus reagents provided with the kit, which otherwise would have been discarded as useless after the entire 960 te st kit had been utilized. These surplus reagents could be used for add itional 220 tests over and above the recommended 960 tests per kit. A total of 839 unknown serum samples, 54 negative controls and 36 positi ve controls were tested using both washed and fresh (new) ELISA plates simultaneously. The optical density (OD) value of the control sera wa s within the prescribed limits in both the methods and 15 samples were found to be positive for HIV antibodies by the fresh plates whereas t he washed plates showed 18 samples to be positive for HIV antibodies. None of the samples positive by fresh plates were negative by washed p lates.