Method Description

The instrument used is a Beckman Coulter DXI 800. The Access Folate assay is a competitive-binding receptor assay. A serum specimen is treated to release folate from endogenous binding proteins. After neutralization of the reaction mixture, folate-binding protein, mouse antifolate-binding protein, folic acid-alkaline phosphatase conjugate, and goat antimouse capture antibody coupled to paramagnetic particles are added to the reaction vessel. Folate in the sample competes with the folic acid-alkaline phosphatase conjugate for binding sites on a limited amount of folate-binding protein. Resulting complexes bind to the solid phase via mouse antifolate binding protein. After incubation in a reaction vessel, materials bound to the solid phase are held in a magnetic field, while unbound materials are washed away. The chemiluminescent substrate Lumi-Phos 530 is added to the vessel and light generated by the reaction is measured with a luminometer. The light production is inversely proportional to the concentration of folate in the sample. The amount of analyte in the sample is determined from a stored, multipoint calibration curve. The assay is standardized to the World Health Organization International Standard 03/178.(Package insert: Access Folate. Beckman Coulter Inc.; 04/2020)