Avidity Of Anti-Naja Haje Antivenin In Relation To In Vivo And In Vitro Activity

Abstract

Avidity, which is a measure of the bonding strength between antigens
and antibodies, becomes an important medical parameter in many
aspects of therapeutic and diagnostic purposes. In the present
investigation, we studied the relationship between the avidity and the
in vivo and in vitro activity of 18 samples of anti-Naja haje
antivenins collected randomly from various horses at different
immunization intervals. Although the avidity indices of the antivenins
varied within a very narrow range, we found that the avidity was
closely associated to the neutralizing potency but independent of the
ELISA titer. The results obtained highlights the value of avidity
assays in amplifying the sensitivity of the in vitro immunoassays and
suggested the use of avidity tests for evaluation and standardization
of antivenins in some antivenin production steps.

KEY WORDS: Antivenin, Avidity, ELISA, Naja haje.