Patent ID: 7172906

Claim:
A method for determining the presence and/or amount of an analyte in a sample suspected of containing said analyte, said method comprising: (a) providing in combination said sample, a soluble compound comprising a protein linked to a first polysaccharide, and reagents for detecting said analyte wherein at least one of said reagents comprises a solid support comprising a second polysaccharide wherein said reagents comprise a specific binding partner for said analyte and wherein said protein does not bind to any of said reagents or to said analvte and wherein said first polysaccharide and said second polysaccharide may be the same or different, (b) incubating said combination under conditions for binding of said analyte to one or more of said reagents, and (c) detecting the presence and/or amount of binding of said analyte to said specific binding partner for said analyte, the presence and/or amount of said binding being related to the presence and/or amount of said analyte in said sample.