MATRIX HCV--a newly developed semiautomated dot-immunoassay.

: MATRIX HCV, a newly developed semiautomated assay for the detection of antibodies against individual antigens of the hepatitis C virus, was evaluated on blood donor specimens and compared with the results of another recombinant immuno-blot assay. 399 samples derived from a low-prevalence population revealed an assay specificity of 99.2% for MATRIX HCV. Investigation of 133 samples with repeat reactive screening results showed that the MATRIX HCV assay had a higher ability to discriminate between a clear reactive and nonreactive result compared to the recombinant immuno-blot assay.