Prima Nexus Workshop Series 2016: hands-on ELISA training at USM, SIRIM and Universiti Malaya

From the Prima Nexus archive: a look back at March to May 2016.

KUALA LUMPUR, 25 May 2016: Prima Nexus ran hands-on ELISA demonstration workshops in three places between March and May 2016, as part of the Prima Nexus Workshop Series 2016: the Institute for Research in Molecular Medicine (INFORMM) at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) in Penang on 16 March, SIRIM Berhad on 12 April, and the Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya (UM), on 25 May, where Prima Nexus co-organised the day with the Cell and Molecular Biology Laboratory (CMBL).

A complete ELISA run in a day

At INFORMM, a short introduction explained ELISA as a method for detecting and measuring a specific protein in a sample. Participants then gathered at the laboratory bench for reagent and standard preparation, followed by sample and plate preparation. During the first incubation there was a talk and a basic demonstration on multiplex immunoassays. In the afternoon the plate was washed and incubated with the detection antibody and then with HRP-streptavidin, before plate reading and data analysis. At SIRIM, participants followed a full ELISA run in the same way, and a talk and a basic demonstration on multiplex immunoassays followed.

Penang, SIRIM and Universiti Malaya

In Penang, registration was free, on a first come, first served basis, with places limited to 20, and 21 people took part. The free workshop for SIRIM scientists ran at the Toxicology Lab, Level 1, Block 19, SIRIM Berhad, and eleven participants received certificates.

At Universiti Malaya, the workshop ran from 8.30 am to 5 pm at the Medical Biotechnology Laboratory of the Faculty of Medicine. About 22 researchers and postgraduate students from Universiti Malaya and University Malaya Medical Centre took part, from departments including pharmacology, medical microbiology, paediatrics and biomedical engineering. The day combined a talk on pre-coated ELISA with a hands-on demonstration at the bench, where participants, wearing gloves, handled the tubes and reagents themselves. The day also covered how to analyse ELISA data.

Prima Nexus's part

Prima Nexus organised the workshops at INFORMM and SIRIM, co-organised the Universiti Malaya workshop with CMBL, which is part of the Faculty of Medicine, and provided the trainers for all three from its life science team. More photos are on the event pages for INFORMM, SIRIM and Universiti Malaya. Today, research teams can send their samples to Prima Nexus for ELISA and Luminex multiplex testing, or order ELISA kits to run in their own lab: see ELISA and Luminex services.