title: A capillary diffusion method for determining hemolytic complement activity in undiluted serum .
abstract: A method is presented for measuring the hemolytic activity of undiluted guinea pig serum. Undiluted serum is placed in contact with a column of sensitized sheep red blood cells in an agar matrix in a capillary tube. After incubation, the length of the zone of lysis is measured. Comparison with a standard curve prepared from dilutions of a pool of normal serum allows relative quantitation. Because the serum is not diluted, this method allows detection of reversible inhibitors of the complement system.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003167:Complement Activation; D003169:Complement Inactivator Proteins; D004058:Diffusion / Q000379:methods*; D006168:Guinea Pigs / Q000097:blood*; D006461:Hemolysis
chemical_list: D003169:Complement Inactivator Proteins