Infection assay kit Q-Plex™

IgGvirusSARS-COV-2

The Q-Plex SARS-CoV-2 Human IgG (5-Plex) array simultaneously recognizes human IgG antibodies to S1 and S2 subunits of the spike glycoprotein as well as antibodies specific for the nucleocapsid protein (NP). Whereas the spike glycoprotein is crucial for the virus’ ability to attach to a cell, the NP is the primary protein that makes up the shell, or capsid, of the virus. The assay also detects antibodies towards the Fc region of sheep antibody to control for cross-reactivity between sample and the assay components. Finally, the kit uses detection of anti-human IgG as a positive control to ensure the assay performs to expectations. Why the nucleocapsid addition? The ability to measure antibodies towards NP as well as S1 and S2 provides an opportunity to distinguish antibody responses caused by vaccination versus those caused by infection. All currently authorized SARS-CoV-2 functional vaccines, such as the Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines and the Johnson and Johnson DNA vaccine, use the spike glycoprotein as the immunogen to elicit a protective antibody response in the patient. Thus, detecting antibodies specific for NP in patients that have been vaccinated suggests that they have also been previously infected with SARS-CoV-2. This sort of tool is useful in seroprevalence studies, as well as in studies focused on elucidating the immune responses of vaccinated patients. Processing All Quansys Q-Plex™ Multiplex and Singleplex assays require the use of the Q-View™ Software to read and interpret the test results. A fully-functional, free trial version of the software is available to download, install, and use to analyze your first kit(s).