A gel plate is cut to form a series of holes ("wells") in the gel. A sample extract of interest (for example human cells harvested from tonsil tissue) is placed in one well, and sera or purified antibodies are placed in another well and the plate left for 48 hours to develop. During this time the antigens in the sample extract and the antibodies each diffuse out of their respective wells. Where the two diffusion fronts meet, if any of the antibodies recognize any of the antigens, they will bind to the antigens and form an immune complex. The immune complex precipitates in the gel to give a thin white line, which is a visual signature of antigen recognition.
The method can be conducted in parallel with multiple wells filled with different antigen mixtures and multiple wells with different antibodies or mixtures of antibodies, and antigen-antibody reactivity can be seen by observing between which wells the precipitate is observed. When more than one well is used there are many possible outcomes based on the reactivity of the antigen and antibody selected. The zone of equivalence lines may give a full identity (i.e. a continuous line), partial identity (i.e. a continuous line with a spur at one end), or a non-identity (i.e. the two lines cross completely).