Single-Dilution COVID-19 Antibody Test with Qualitative and Quantitative Readouts

Bortz RH 3rd, Florez C, Laudermilch E, Wirchnianski AS, Lasso G, Malonis RJ, Georgiev GI, Vergnolle O, Herrera NG, Morano NC, Campbell ST, Orner EP, Mengotto A, Dieterle ME, Fels JM, Haslwanter D, Jangra RK, Celikgil A, Kimmel D, Lee JH, Mariano MC, Nakouzi A, Quiroz J, Rivera J, Szymczak WA, Tong K, Barnhill J, Forsell MNE, Ahlm C, Stein DT, Pirofski LA, Goldstein DY, Garforth SJ, Almo SC, Daily JP, Prystowsky MB, Faix JD, Fox AS, Weiss LM, Lai JR, Chandran K. Single-Dilution COVID-19 Antibody Test with Qualitative and Quantitative Readouts. 2021. mSphere 6:e00224-21

[doi: 10.1128/mSphere.00224-21]  [Download PDF]


ABSTRACT

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continues to place an immense burden on societies and health care systems. A key component of COVID-19 control efforts is serological testing to determine the community prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 exposure and quantify individual immune responses to prior SARS-CoV-2 infection or vaccination. Here, we describe a laboratory-developed antibody test that uses readily available research-grade reagents to detect SARS-CoV-2 exposure in patient blood samples with high sensitivity and specificity. We further show that this sensitive test affords the estimation of viral spike-specific IgG titers from a single sample measurement, thereby providing a simple and scalable method to measure the strength of an individual's immune response. The accuracy, adaptability, and cost-effectiveness of this test make it an excellent option for clinical deployment in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.