The Human pan Interferon-alpha (IFN-α) ELISA Kit is designed for the quantitative detection and measurement of human IFN-α in biological fluids such as serum, plasma, and cell culture supernatants. IFN-α is primarily produced by macrophages resulting from viral infections and activates anti-viral and immunomodulatory activities in target cells. IFN-α is secreted as multiple subtypes; this kit is specific for subtypes 1/13, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 14, 16, and 17.

The assay is based on the sandwich ELISA method, in which samples are added to ELISA strip plates pre-coated with capture antibodies specific for the cytokine. The captured cytokine is detected by addition of a biotinylated detection antibody, followed by streptavidin-horseradish peroxidase, which binds the biotinylated antibody. Addition of the chromogenic enzyme substrate 3,3’,5,5’ tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) results in a colored product with an intensity directly proportional to the concentration of cytokine in the sample. The concentration of the cytokine is determined by comparison to a serial dilution of the cytokine standard analyzed in parallel.