What does ELISA measure?

ELISA, an acronym for enzyme linken immunoabsorbant assay, is a means of measuring the amount of a specific antibody in serum through treating a 96 well plate with antigens that stick well to the plastic walls. The antibodies will bind to the antigens and then when introduced to an enzyme and a substrate will creat a reaction that produces a colour. The amount of colour is proportional to the amount of antibodies in the serum. For accurate data, an ELISA machine will meaure the immunoabsorbancy of the well contents and determine the exact concentration of antibodies in the serum.