| WB | Western Blot | (WB) or Immunoblot, because of the similarity to the procedures described above, is used to detect antibodies to specific epitopes of electrophoretically separated subspecies of antigens. Electrophoresis of antigenic material yields separation of the antigenic components by molecular weight. Blotting of the separated antigen to nitrocellulose, retaining the electrophoretic position, and reacting it with patient specimen will result in the binding of specific antibodies, if present, to each antigenic "band". Electrophoresis of known molecular weight standards allows for the determination of the molecular weight of each antigenic band to which antibodies may be produced. These antibodies are then detected using EIA reactions which characterize antibody specificity. This technique is often used to confirm the specificity of antibodies which are detected by ELISA screening procedures. |