The Phosphatidylethanol (PEth) ELISA is a sensitive and robust immunoassay for the detection of the alcohol biomarker, PEth, extracted from dried blood spot (DBS) cards.

Assay Sensitivity: 30 ng/mLSample Volume: For duplicate data points, 50 µL of whole blood is required.Sample Type: detects PEth from whole blood spotted on a DBS (dried bloodspot) card.

BackgroundThe Phosphatidylethanol (PEth) ELISA detects the alcohol biomarker, PEth, extracted from dried blood spot (DBS) cards. The assay is a competitive immunoassay where PEth in a sample extract competes with PEth on a plate for binding to a specific HRP-conjugated antibody. Thus, the assay signal is inversely proportional to the amount of PEth present in the sample. This assay is designed for dried blood spot card samples and uses 5 small 3.2 mm (1/8 inch) punches for running duplicate or triplicate measurements. The antibody recognizes all major PEth molecular species, providing researchers a quick and robust method to screen for positive/negative PEth in whole blood spotted DBS cards.

PEth is a direct biomarker of alcohol ingestion formed in the blood only when ethanol has been consumed. It is specific and can report previous alcohol consumption beginning a few hours after a drinking event and continuing 2-3 weeks later. Sensitive detection by mass spectrometry using whole blood or dried blood spot (DBS) cards is becoming generally accepted as the gold-standard for detecting past alcohol consumption. The Echelon PEth ELISA is the first commercially available immunoassay for detection of PEth in blood.

References

1)  Luginbühl M. et al. (2021) Quantitative determination of phosphatidylethanol in dried blood spots for monitoring alcohol abstinence. Nature Protocols 16, 283–308.

2) Eby, J. M. and M. Majetschak (2019). Effects of ethanol and ethanol metabolites on intrinsic function of mesenteric resistance arteries. PLoS ONE 14(3): e0214336.