application of specific monoclonal antibodies for characterization of leishmania spp. promastigotes using indirect immunofluorescent and immunoperoxidase tests

background: different methods have been used for characterization of leishmania promastigotes. monoclonal antibodies are useful in characterization of   leishmania spp . both amastogotes and promastigotes. objective: comparing the characterization of   leishmania spp. promastigotes with immunoperoxidase test (avidin-biotin) techniques and an indirect immunofluorescent assay (ifa).   methods: application of specific monoclonal antibodies for characterization of different   leishmania species. immunoperoxidase tests (avidin-biotin) and indirect immunofluorescent assay (ifa) were employed for characterization of different   leishmnia promastigotes from culture. five monoclonal antibodies including lxxviii-2e5- a8 (d2) specific for   l. donovani:l. infantum , is2-2b4 (a11) specific for l. tropica, xciv-h2- ab (t10) specific for   l. tropica, xlvi-5b8- b3 (t1) specific for l. major, and t7 reactive to both   l. major and l. tropica as well as an anti gp63 mab were used. results: the best result was obtained with the dilution of 1:50 for both mab and conjugate. one hundred percent sensitivity and specificity was achieved for characterization of leishmania promastogotes with both methods. conclusion: as immunoperoxidase method needs less equipments compared to ifa technique, it would be a preferred method for characterization of promastigotes.