IFA

In the first incubation step, specific antibodies from the diluted patient sample bind to the solid-phase bound antigens. In the next step, a fluorescein (FITC)-labelled antibody (conjugate) binds to the specific antibodies from the patient sample. By excitation with the respective wavelength, the complex can be made visible at the fluorescence microscope. The test processing is manual, semi- or completely automated.

TITERPLANE technology

BIOCHIP technology not only ensures highest standardisation of substrate production but also, together with TITERPLANE technology, provides a unique form of incubation for brilliant fluorescence images.

In the TITERPLANE technique, the diluted samples are first pipetted onto the fields of a glass reagent tray. The fields of the reagent tray are hydrophilic while the area outside the fields is hydrophobic, so that the samples cannot run into each other. Only when all the samples have been pipetted are the slides placed onto the reagent trays, with the BIOCHIPs facing downwards. In this way, all reaction fields come into contact with the samples at the same time and the reactions are started simultaneously for all samples. This prevents deviations in the reaction intensity due to differences in the incubation times. 

Another advantage of TITERPLANE technology and of placing the slides onto the samples from above results from gravity: Crystals or particles in the samples do not accumulate on the BIOCHIPS, but on the reagent tray. Moreover, TITERPLANE technology prevents evaporation of the samples, rendering a conventional “humidity chamber” unnecessary. This results in optimal fluorescence images which can be evaluated visually or fully automatically.