Dried blood spots as a source of anti-malarial antibodies for epidemiological studies.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Blood spots collected onto filter paper are an established and convenient source of antibodies for serological diagnosis and epidemiological surveys. Although recommendations for the storage and analysis of small molecule analytes in blood spots exist, there are no published systematic studies of the stability of antibodies under different storage conditions.

Methods

Blood spots, on filter paper or glass fibre mats and containing malaria-endemic plasma, were desiccated and stored at various temperatures for different times. Eluates of these spots were assayed for antibodies against two Plasmodium falciparum antigens, MSP-119 and MSP2, and calculated titres used to fit an exponential (first order kinetic) decay model. The first order rate constants (k) for each spo

SUBMITTER: Corran PH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2567984 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature