Immunodiagnostics is the use of immunoassays for diagnostic purposes. The immunoassay utilizes the highly specific antigen-antibody interaction as the basis of the detection. The term diagnosis usually implies disease diagnosis; however, advances in the field of immunoassays have made them extensively applicable to a variety of fields other than the clinical. Immunodiagnostics are now mainstays in fields like drug testing, assessment of environmental pollutants, food safety testing, forensic medicine, external quality assurance and proficiency testing. The popularity of immunodiagnostic approach stems from their relative simplicity, accuracy, test turn-around time and portability; thus combining sensitivity, specificity and ease of use. The immunoassays have been the method of choice for detection of relatively small concentration of analytes in complex biological fluids/other analytical samples for the last five decades. The scientists world over are trying to develop new generations of immunoassays that focuses on reducing the assay turnover time and reducing the steps and instrumental requirements for result interpretation.
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