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ELISA Development moderate

Very Low Readings Across Plate

Symptom
Consistently low optical density readings across entire plate including standards
Common Causes
  1. 1 Incorrect wavelengths used in plate reader
  2. 2 Insufficient development time
  3. 3 Coated plates are old and degraded
  4. 4 Capture antibody did not bind to plate
  5. 5 Buffer containing FCS used to reconstitute antibodies
Solutions
  1. 1 Check filters and reader wavelength settings
  2. 2 Increase development time
  3. 3 Coat new plates
  4. 4 Use proper ELISA plates (not tissue culture plates)
  5. 5 Dilute capture antibody in PBS without additional protein
  6. 6 Requalify reagents if FCS was used
Related Video (2)
Bilibili (China-Accessible Mirrors) ★ 85
DuoSet ELISA — Sandwich ELISA Hands-on Protocol (Bio-Techne)
"Hands-on sandwich ELISA protocol including substrate development and plate reading at 450 nm, directly showing the correct readout step where wavelength errors cause low OD."
Thermo Fisher Scientific ★ 80
How to Run an ELISA Assay – Invitrogen Kit Step-by-Step Tutorial
"Step-by-step ELISA kit tutorial covering the full assay and detection/reading workflow, useful context for spotting where low-OD failures arise."
Source: rndsystems.com ↗
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