Meridian has recently launched new antigens and antibodies to Zika Virus for the development of a specific and rapid IgG/IgM antibody detection assay. The recombinant proteins are produced in insect cells and have been tested to work well in lateral flow formats.

To increase the detection sensitivity of Zika IgM lateral flow assays, Meridian recommends using the bridging technique. In traditional lateral flow assays, the disease-specific antigen is conjugated to colloidal gold. However, in the bridging technique, colloidal gold is conjugated to the disease specific antibody (e.g. MAb or PAb to Zika NS1) and pre-mixed with unconjugated antigen (e.g. Zika NS1). Conjugating colloidal gold directly to the Zika antigen can inhibit its ability to bind to captured IgM. Furthermore, using a gold-conjugated PAb, which has a broad reactivity, can further increase assay sensitivity. A PAb can bind to different antigen epitopes, therefore enabling more than one PAb to bind to the same antigen simultaneously to generate a stronger signal.

Download Zika Virus Flyer: NS1 and Envelope Antigens & Antibodies for Rapid Assays