CFT Full Form | What is the full form of CFT
CFT Full Form - Complement Fixation Test
- CFT stands for Complement Fixation Test.
- It's one of the major traditional tests (diagnostic examination of blood serum) used to detect an antibody in a person's blood serum, based on whether fixation occurs or not. CFT is mainly used to diagnose infections.
- It had been introduced by Wasserman in 1909. In the beginning, it had been extensively used in syphilis serology.
Complement Fixation Test
- Complement is a protein (globulin) present in normal blood serum.
- It binds to antigen-antibody (Ag-Ab) complex (immune complex) formed during the antigen-antibody reaction.
- The complement fixation to complex leads to lysis of cell, on which the Ag-AB complex is made. So, when a complement takes part in antigen-antibody complexes, it's fixed or bound to the antigen-antibody complex.
- When the complex is on bacteria, red blood cells or other cells, the complement causes the lysis of the cells involved.
- The terminal components of the complement damage the cell membranes within the presence of a selected antibody, which fixes complement to the cell surface. Within the CFT, Reb Blood Cells (erythrocytes) are used as the target cells, as complement induced damage of the cell wall are often measured as a rise in free hemoglobin.
- When specific antibodies in response to an infective agent are present within the serum, a complement within the system is sure to the Ag-Ab complex, leaving no residual complement to react with antibodies that belong to the erythrocytes, so hemolytic won't occur. So, the absence of hemolytic confirms the presence of specific antibodies within the serum.
- If hemolytic occurs, it means, the precise antibody isn't present within the blood serum.
Advantages
- It can detect an huge number of viral and bacterial infections at an equivalent time.
- It is a cheap test.