Description and comparison of methods for the determination of anti-sars-COV-2 antibodies

Abstract

The SARS-COV-2 pandemic had an impact with more than 570 million cases and more than 6.8 million deaths as recorded by the United Nations by July 2022. Within the diagnostic context, a few immunological techniques for the detection of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies emerged, including Chemiluminescent Microparticle Immunoassay (CMIA) and Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). This study aimed to compare three detection techniques that have different methodological basis. The study was observational, cross-sectional and retrospective in design. Materials and methods: Serum samples were processed by the following methodologies: CMIA and “in-house” ELISA. Results: The methodologies were quantitatively evaluated by the correlation method, and qualitatively by assessing individual and simultaneous sensitivity and specificity. Conclusions: These methodologies were designed in a health emergency context so they do not have a gold standard; thus, different algorithms are proposed to improve both the sensitivity and specificity of the detection of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies.