LATEX ALLERGY

Latex allergy tests provided by ALLTOX include both the determination of the absolute amount of major latex allergens and the determination of  allergenicity of laetx protein eluted from a product of interest.

For the first purpose a standardized test with monoclonal antibodies in a sandwich-type ELISA system is used, which include recombinant molecules of the major allergens as a positive control. This test not only provides an indication of the presence of latex in a product (for instance, gloves), but also lets you know if the amount may be taken to be regarded as “low “, “medium ” or “high “, based on extensive studies published on the subject.

The second test is an assay based on ex vivo sensitization and uses as probe IgE from sera of allergic individuals. This test allows quantification of reactivity of the probe (in-house reference) with proteins eluted from the product to be tested. Elution is performed in artificial sweat according to a standard protocol.

Both tests allow to monitor the consistency from batch to batch for the presence of latex proteins.