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Elek's test


Elek's test, also known as the immuno diffusion technique, is an in vitro virulence test performed upon Corynebacterium diphtheriae. It is used to test for toxigenicity of C. diphtheriae.

It was characterized in 1949 by the American Microbiologist, Stephen Dyonis Elek (1914–1992). A filter paper strip impregnated with diphtheria antitoxin is buried just beneath the surface of a special agar plate before the agar hardens. Strains to be tested, known positive and negative toxigenic strains are streaked on the agar's surface in a line across the plate, and at a right angle to the antitoxin paper strip. After 24 hours of incubation at 37 degrees Celsius, plates are examined with transmitted light for the presence of fine precipitin lines at a 45-degree angle to the streaks. The presence of precipitin lines indicates that the strain produced toxin that reacted with the antitoxin.

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