Patent ID: 8034632

Claim:
A homogeneous immunoassay method of testing for an allergic response in a patient, comprising: combining an undiluted serum sample from the patient with labeled subsets of specific allergen-coupled particles under conditions that enable binding of the allergen-coupled particles to allergen-specific antibodies from the patient's serum sample, wherein the combining creates a response mixture; adding a first binding agent to the response mixture, the first binding agent comprising an anti-human antibody covalently bound to a first member of a binding pair; adding a labeled second binding agent to the response mixture containing the first binding agent, the labeled second binding agent comprising a second member of the binding pair and a label, wherein the second member of the binding pair has an affinity for binding to the first member of the binding pair; determining the amounts of the allergen-specific antibodies from the serum sample that are bound to specific allergens by (i) identifying and distinguishing the labeled particles to identify the subsets of specific allergens and (ii) measuring the amount of labeled second binding agent in each of the subsets of allergens; wherein, the first binding agent and the second binding agent are preselected to enable detection of anti-human antibodies at a detection sensitivity ranging from about 10 −9 g/ml to about 10 −12 g/ml, and the undiluted serum is limited to having a volume of about 0.5 μL to about 25 μL; wherein, the molecular ratio of anti-human antibody to the first member of the binding pair in the first binding agent is from about 1:10 to about 1:30, the second binding agent has a molecular weight of between about 400,000 and about 1,000,000 Daltons, and the selection of the first binding agent, the second binding agent, and serum volume has the function of avoiding quenching of a signal from the label of the labeled second binding agent and high dose hook effects; and wherein, the detection sensitivity ranging from 10 −9 g/ml to 10 −12 g/ml is measured under homogeneous assay conditions.