Comparisons between commercial salivary testosterone enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits

Introduction: Measuring testosterone concentrations is of interest both in clinical situations and for research, the latter expanding rapidly during recent years. An increased demand for convenient methods has prompted a number of companies to develop enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits to measure testosterone concentrations in saliva. However, the inter-comparability of kits from different manufacturers have yet to be determined. Aim of study: The aim of this study was to compare commercially available ELISA kits from four different manufacturers (Salimetrics, IBL, DRG and Demeditec). Methods: Saliva was collected from 50 participants (25 men and 25 women). Each sample was analysed by the four ELISA kits. Results: The correlations between the ELISA kits from Demeditec, DRG and Salimetrics were moderate to high with r-values >.77; however, proportional errors between the methods calls for caution. The ELISA kit from IBL malfunctioned and no results from this kit was obtained. Conclusions: Results from studies using the ELISA kits from Demeditec, DRG and Salimetrics are generally comparable; however, translation using the formulae presented in the current study could increase the accuracy of these comparisons.