An inhibition enzyme immunoassay for estimating relative antibody affinity and affinity heterogeneity

A method to measure the relative affinity of antibodies using an inhibition enzyme immunoassay is described. It is validated using monoclonal antibodies of defined affinity characteristics and by comparison with conventional methods of affinity measurement. The method allows measurement of the relative affinity of low levels of antibody, and the calculation of an empirical estimate of the heterogeneity of affinity in antibody populations.