ELISA –

An ELISA test can be used to demonstrate the effects of your product on skin renewal, stimulation of intrinsic synthesis of hyaluronic acid, or collagens and the inflammation response. The epidermis is a metabolically active tissue whose permanent renewal processes are subject to complex regulation. Infection or damage provoke the release of messenger substances such as interleukin-1α (IL-1α), the level of which can be extracted from the epidermis by washing the skin, and this can be used as a biomarker for the inflammatory response in ELISA tests. Here at Dermatest, we use what is known as a sandwich ELISA test, where paired antibodies specifically bind to the antigen to be detected. In a subsequent enzymatic reaction, the amount of interleukin-1α can be calculated by photometric measurement of a colour change.

Schematic diagram of ELISA The first antibody is firmly bound to the incubation chamber (A). Interleukin 1α binds to the first and second antibodies (B-C). After adding the streptavidin-HRP (D) and the substrate (E), an enzymatic reaction takes place which converts the substrate into a blue dye. The stop solution changes the dye from blue to yellow.