Enzyme-linked lectin assay (ELLA). II. Detection of carbohydrate groups on the surface of unfixed cells.

An enzyme-linked lectin assay (ELLA) has been developed to detect specific carbohydrate units on the surface of unfixed cells. The assay may be read in standard ELISA plate readers, since the cell-bound enzyme-lectin conjugate is specifically eluted from the cells prior to development of the conjugate. ELLA, when read in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) plate reader, allows better detection and relative quantitation of specific surface carbohydrate units than is possible by standard immunofluorescence with fluorescein-conjugated lectins.