Enzyme-linked immunoassays

The enzyme-linked immunoassay (EIA) has been the most widely used immunodiagnostic format in healthcare, industrial, and bioanalytical settings. The last few decades have witnessed the development of manual and automated EIA formats. Initially, the manual EIA was the predominant format when the field of clinical diagnostics was less advanced. Nevertheless, the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, the most used EIA format, is still deployed in resource-limited settings. The trend has now shifted toward automated EIAs, which can be performed in central laboratories using clinical analyzers. Indeed, a wide range of analyzers have become available to suit the customized needs and requirements of various healthcare settings. The recent trend is also strongly inclined toward point-of-care testing using advanced lab-on-a-chip (LOC) formats, rapid EIA strategies, and portable, low-cost readout devices, notably smartphone readers. The advances in complementary technologies, such as mobile healthcare, LOC, multiplex detection, microfabrication techniques, and clinical scoring, are further paving the way to low-cost and analytically superior EIAs.