Agglutination, commonly known as clumping, is a phenomenon in which minuscule particles that are perceived as foreign by the body, such as proteins on the surfaces of bacteria or foreign red blood cells, adhere together to form visible clusters. This process occurs as a response of the immune system, facilitated by specific antibodies called agglutinins, which are produced by the immune system. Notably, particles of a specific antigen will only aggregate when the corresponding agglutinin specific to that antigen is present.
The process of clumping, known as agglutination, can be utilized as a method to determine an individual’s blood groups. In blood typing, small portions of a person’s blood are combined with antibodies targeting blood types A and B, aiming to observe whether clumping occurs with either, both, or neither of these antibodies. Cross-matching involves mixing a sample of an individual’s blood with a sample from a potential donor. If the red blood cells clump together, it indicates that the two blood samples are incompatible. Moreover, bacteria can be identified by employing samples containing specific agglutinins designed for particular bacterial strains. For instance, the latex agglutination test utilizes this principle.