Elevated levels of D-dimer are found in the blood of patients with pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis and atherosclerosis. D-dimer diagnostic tests are widely used to exclude the diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis. In addition, increased amount of D-dimer in blood is believed to be a reliable marker of pathological coagulation that underlies the pathogenesis of most cardiovascular diseases.
Kogan, AE et al. (2016) Monoclonal antibodies with equal specificity to D-dimer and high-molecular-weight fibrin degradation products. Blood Coagul. Fibrinolysis, 2015 Dec 11. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 26656897.
The discrepancy between the results obtained by D-dimer assays from different manufacturers is a significant challenge to clinicians in D-dimer determination. The problem is well known but has turned out to be difficult to solve. In this article, we present a new concept for developing a D-dimer immunoassay that could decrease the problems associated with the current assays.
Elevated levels of D-dimer are found in the blood of patients with pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis and atherosclerosis. D-dimer diagnostic tests are widely used to exclude the diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis. In addition, increased amount of D-dimer in blood is believed to be a reliable marker of pathological coagulation that underlies the pathogenesis of most cardiovascular diseases.
D-dimer is the smallest degradation product resulting from fibrinolysis. In fibrinolysis, fibrin clots are digested by plasmin, and fibrin degradation products (FDP) of various sizes are released into the bloodstream.
For an accurate determination of D-dimer and the varying range of high molecular weight FDPs, the assay should detect FDPs and D-dimer with equal specificity.
We provide several monoclonal antibodies specific to D-dimer and FDP for development of reliable, quantitative D-dimer assays. In addition to antibodies, we offer D-dimer that is produced from clotted fibrinogen by means of plasmin digestion.