C6 (B. burgdorferi) Lyme ELISA
For in vitro diagnostic use
Catalog # DK-E352-096
Overview
Lyme disease can be difficult to diagnose. Traditional Lyme ELISA tests are short on specificity and can generate over 20 percent false positive results. This uncertain performance can result in time-consuming, expensive Western Blot confirmatory tests. The C6 Lyme ELISA from Immunetics sets a new standard in Lyme test accuracy, and delivers more reliable results sooner and more economically than any other ELISA. It demonstrates 99 percent specificity in an average population – equivalent to the specificity of Western Blot testing and a 10-fold improvement over Whole Cell Sonicate ELISAs. Additionally, the C6 Lyme ELISA is a far more sensitive assay – showing twice the sensitivity of the standard Western Blot in patients with symptoms of acute or early Lyme disease. These features mean that more patients are correctly detected as positive for the disease. From early onset to late stage disseminated infection, C6 Lyme ELISA demonstrates superior results.
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Accurate: Western Blot accuracy in an ELISA
- Sensitive: More sensitive detection of antibodies in early and late Lyme disease than competing kits
- Specific: Eliminates vast majority of other ELISA's false positives at the screening step
- Broadly applicable: Detects infection with all strains of Borrelia which cause Lyme disease, including European strains B. garinii and B. afzelii.
- Convenient: One hour turnaround time, breakaway strips for any number of samples, ready-to-use reagents and controls included
- Cost-effective: Greatly reduces the number of samples sent for expensive and lengthy confirmatory testing
Methodology
Immunetics has pioneered the use of the C6 peptide, a 26-amino acid sequence within the Borrelia membrane protein VlsE. This is the first truly specific and sensitive marker for infection with the Borrelia burgdorferi spirochete. This peptide has been shown to represent the immunodominant portion of VlsE, containing substantially all of the antigenic reactivity of the whole protein. The C6 peptide sequence is highly antigenic, generating an immune response in nearly all human cases soon after infection, and is specific to Borrelia strains causing Lyme disease. It is not found in other infectious organisms, eliminating cross-reactivity at the source.
Immunetics’ C6 ELISA uses a synthetic version of the C6 peptide antigen*. This precisely defined antigen makes possible a highly sensitive, specific and reproducible ELISA for infection with the B. burgdorferi spirochete. Current ELISA tests do not match the specificity or sensitivity of Immunetics’ C6 ELISA because they are based on Whole Cell Sonicates (WCS) containing multiple antigens, leading to cross-reactivity and inaccurate or ambiguous results.
