BEIJING, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese researchers have developed two monoclonal antibody reference materials to assist the detection for the novel coronavirus.

The two human IgG monoclonal antibody reference materials, developed by the National Institute of Metrology (NIM), have been approved as national reference materials by the State Administration for Market Regulation, according to a report by Science and Technology Daily.

Since the outbreak of the epidemic, the immunoassays based on IgM antibody and IgG antibody of the COVID-19 patients have been considered as an important supplement to the nucleic acid detection.

The new antibody reference materials, combined with the previously developed reference materials for COVID-19 nucleic acid testing, can further improve the accuracy of the detection, said Dai Xinhua, researcher from the NIM.

As of March 16, a total of 11 nucleic acid detection reagents and eight antibody detection reagents for the COVID-19 were approved by the National Medical Products Administration.

The specific antibody reference materials can provide an accurate and reliable guarantee for the development of the testing kits and detection reagents from different manufacturers, said the report.