Inclination towards chemiluminescent immunoassays in comparison to colorimetric immunoassays for diagnosis of HBV, HCV and HIV

The objective of this study was to reveal the shif of various diagnostic centres towards chemiluminescent immunoassays from colorimetric immunoassays for diagnosis of HBV, HCV and HIV. National Institute of Biologicals (NIB) carries out quality evaluation of enzyme linked immunoassays intended to be used for diagnosis of HBV, HCV and HIV. The batches of these assays are forwarded to NIB by drugs regulatory authority of India. The number of batches of both types of immunoassays received from the year 2011 to October 2015, clearly showed that the demand for chemiluminescent immunoassays have increased and these assays are occupying the space of traditional colorimetric immunoassays. In the year 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 (till October 2015) the number of batches of colorimetric immunoassays received were 174, 89, 112, 163 and 112 respectively, while the number of batches of chemiluminescent based enzyme immunoassays received were 0, 4, 39, 48 and 89 respectively. The reason for this shift may be their higher sensitivity, uniform linear range and need of lesser sample.