The author puts an evaluation of the value immunoprecipitation in gel techniques (double immunodiffusion, immunoelectrophoresis) for the study of arboviruses and arenaviruses.
In the present state of things, this is a simple, quick, inexpensive and often very specific mefhod, but the qualities of reagents limits its field of applications : antigens are not sufficiently purified and the colleclion of antibodies is not very standardized.
At the present time, the best applications are in the epidemiological field : quick identification of wild strains of viruses, intratypic differenciation, serological surveys in man and animals.
But, in connection with other analytical methods and providing the use of very purified antigenic fractions, immunoprecipitation helps to approach some more fondamental problems as antigenic structure of these viruses at the molecular level.