The ELISpot assay, as a sensitive and specific method, enables the detection of cytokines for immunological purposes and in vaccine development. Here we describe the successful transfer of the manual procedure to a commercially available automated liquid handling platform, based on the work described in Neubauer et al. (Cytotechnology 69:57-73, 2017). Different kinds of technical issues (dead volume reduction, instrumental handling limitations, liquid class improvement) have been solved and biological effects (reagents concentration, selectivity tests, dispensing way, etc.) have been controlled during the implementation process. At the end a maximum of 6% mean delta difference and a lower mean dispersion than the manual assay were reached as well as a turnaround time of four to six times higher than the manual process.
Keywords: Automation; ELISpot; PBMCs; Peripheral blood mononuclear cells; Standardization.