Western Blot Activity

Background

Whereas ELISA measures antibody to whole virus and gives a "positive," "negative" or indeterminate test result, Western blotting is a more specific test. It allows one to visualize antibodies directed against each viral protein. For this reason, it is a confirmatory test for a positive HIV ELISA. In an HIV Western blotting, proteins are electrophoresed into a gel. As the proteins migrate through the gel they are separated based upon size and charge. Characteristically, smaller proteins migrate through the gel faster than larger proteins.

The Biology Project
University of Arizona
Wednesday, Jan 15, 1998
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