In: Biology
The plaque assay is a very well-established tool for evaluating concentration of viruses as it relates to the dose of infection. This assay is focused on calculating the number of pfu (plaque-forming units) produced within a virus-infected cell monolayer. Once a virus-infected cell lysis, plaques form, leading to a subsequent process of neighboring cell infection and lysis. PRNT (Plaque Reduction Neutralization) assay is a powerful twist on the plaque assay used to test antibody nutrilizarion.
Plaque-based assays are the typical approach used to assess infectious dose concentration of the virus.
Utility of plaque assay is to phenotypic characterization of a genetically modified Plasmodium falciparum clone known to exhibit a poorly defined growth defect.
Plaque assay also used by testing separate plaques in cell culture for the direct quantification of infectious antiviral substances and virons.