Patent ID: 8183002

Claim:
An immunoassay for detecting an analyte of interest in a test sample, the immunoassay comprising the steps of: a) contacting a test sample suspected of containing an analyte of interest with a first antibody that binds to at least one epitope on the analyte of interest to form a first antibody-analyte complex, wherein the first antibody is immobilized on a solid phase, and further wherein at least one autoantibody in the test sample binds to at least one epitope on the analyte of interest to form an autoantibody-analyte complex, wherein said autoantibody binds to the solid phase; b) contacting said mixture comprising a first antibody-analyte complex and an autoantibody-analyte complex with a second antibody to form a measurable assembly comprising a first antibody-analyte-second antibody complex and an autoantibody-analyte-second antibody complex; wherein the second antibody binds to at least one epitope on the analyte of interest, and further wherein, an optical, electrical, or change-of-state signal of the assembly is measured.