What is the Difference Between Serum Protein Electrophoresis and Immunofixation

The key difference between serum protein electrophoresis and immunofixation is that serum protein electrophoresis is a technique that examines proteins in the serum by only using electrophoresis, while serum protein immunofixation is a technique that examines proteins in the serum by using both electrophoresis and precipitation.

Serum protein electrophoresis and immunofixation are laboratory techniques used to diagnose diseases such as multiple myeloma. In both techniques, electrophoresis is a major step, and blood is the primary sample. Moreover, both these techniques can be used to detect proteins in the serum, such as albumins and globulins. Furthermore, these techniques also detect the fluctuations of the concentrations of the above proteins in blood with respect to different medical conditions.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Serum Protein Electrophoresis  
3. What is Serum Protein Immunofixation
4. Similarities – Serum Protein Electrophoresis and Immunofixation
5. Serum Protein Electrophoresis vs Immunofixation in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Serum Protein Electrophoresis vs Immunofixation

What is Serum Protein Electrophoresis?

Serum protein electrophoresis is a common laboratory technique that examines specific proteins, such as globulins, in the blood sample. This technique is mainly used in diagnosing or monitoring medical conditions such as multiple myeloma and monoclonal gammopathy of uncertain significance (MGUS). Certain signs, such as the discrepancy between low albumin and relatively high total proteins, bone pain, anemia, proteinuria, and hypercalcemia, prompt laboratory specialists to use the serum protein electrophoresis technique in their daily routine of disease diagnosis.

In this technique, blood must be first collected into an airtight vial. Later, the collected blood serum is applied to a buffered agarose gel matrix or into liquid in a capillary tube and then exposed to an electric current to separate the serum protein components. Usually, serum protein components separate into five major fractions by size and electric charge, such as albumin, alpha-1 globulins, alpha2 globulins, beta1 and 2 globulins, and gamma globulins. Furthermore, these proteins can be stained to generate a schematic diagram. The changes to the normal serum protein electrophoresis diagram with the legend of different zones are indications of the presence of an underlying medical condition.

What is Serum Protein Immunofixation?

Serum protein immunofixation is a technique that examines proteins in the serum by using both electrophoresis and precipitation. It helps to identify illnesses such as multiple myeloma and blood cancers, which are hard to detect. This technique is also known as IFE and immunofixation precipitation. There are two types of proteins in the blood such as albumin and globulins.

This test first divides proteins in the blood into subgroups (albumin, alpha 1 globulin, alpha 2 globulin, beta globulin, and gamma globulin) according to their electrical charge and size by using electrophoresis. Then a laboratory specialist fixes these proteins in place using antibodies. Later, they use a dye to attach to these proteins and stain them. After this procedure, these proteins form patterned bands that can be observed on a computer monitor. The peaks and valleys of the bands indicate whether the patients have too many or too few proteins in the blood. The band pattern is normally different for specific diseases, so it can diagnose different diseases by using these patterns of bands,

What are the Similarities Between Serum Protein Electrophoresis and Immunofixation?

• Serum protein electrophoresis and immunofixation are laboratory techniques used to diagnose diseases such as multiple myeloma.
• In both techniques, electrophoresis is a major step, and blood is the primary sample.
• Both these techniques can separate serum blood proteins into five subgroups such as albumin, alpha 1 globulin, alpha 2 globulin, beta globulin, and gamma globulin.
• These techniques also detect the fluctuations of the concentrations of the above proteins in blood with respect to different medical conditions.
• These techniques are performed by laboratory specialists.
• Both these techniques are cost-effective techniques.

What is the Difference Between Serum Protein Electrophoresis and Immunofixation?

Serum protein electrophoresis is a technique that examines proteins in the serum by only using electrophoresis, while serum protein immunofixation is a technique that examines proteins in the serum by using both electrophoresis and precipitation. Thus, this is the key difference between serum protein electrophoresis and immunofixation. Furthermore, serum protein electrophoresis is a less time-consuming technique, while immunofixation is a more time-consuming technique.

The below infographic presents the differences between serum protein electrophoresis and immunofixation in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.

Summary – Serum Protein Electrophoresis vs Immunofixation

Serum protein electrophoresis and immunofixation are laboratory techniques that diagnose diseases like multiple myeloma, blood cancers, etc. Both techniques have similar features, such as electrophoresis, which is the major step, and blood is the primary sample. However, serum protein electrophoresis examines proteins in the serum by only using electrophoresis, while serum protein immunofixation examines proteins in the serum by using both electrophoresis and precipitation. So, this is the summary of the difference between serum protein electrophoresis and immunofixation.

Reference:

1. Sherilyn Alvaran Tuazon, MD. “Serum Protein Electrophoresis.” Reference Range, Interpretation, Collection and Panels, Medscape.
2. “How Is a Serum Immunofixation Test Done? Do You Need It?” WebMD.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Serum protein electrophoresis normal” By Steven Fruitsmaak – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Immunfixation schematisch” By EssEmLink – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia