Technical modifications of the Western blot are The line immunoassay (LIA) The recombinant immunoblot assay (RIBA), which uses synthetic or recombinant-produced antigens Immunochromatographic assays, which can rapidly screen specimens for specific microbial antigens or patient antibodies Of the three, the immunochromatographic assay is easiest to do and the most commonly used—eg, to detect Shiga toxin-producing microorganisms, Cryptococcus neoformans capsular antigen, and influenza virus.