ABSTRACT
In considering phospholipids as tools in diagnosis, it is important to include their ability to form effective solid phases for immunassay of antibodies to polyphosphates, phosphoryl choline, and the like. Phospholipids can have a role as diagnostic markers in those diseases or conditions characterized by disruptions to their normal patterns of occurrence, perhaps caused by inborn errors of metabolism, by dietary deficiency, or by the action of infectious organisms. The most varied application of phospholipids in diagnosis has been derived from their use to construct liposomes that can be made to generate some form of detectable signal, as a consequence of antibody-antigen binding. When antibody molecules are bound by immunoliposomes, aggregates are formed, which can be seen as macroscopic agglutination. Liposomes alone can be used in this way, especially if they are large and colored, but the best way to use agglutinating liposomes seems to be in enhancing the agglutination of other particles.
