A novel piezoelectric quartz micro-array immunosensor for detection of immunoglobulinE

Area of Science:

• Biosensors
• Analytical Chemistry
• Immunosensing

Background:

• Quantitative detection of human immunoglobulin E (IgE) is crucial for diagnosing allergic conditions.
• Traditional immunosensors often face limitations in detection speed and throughput.
• Development of sensitive and rapid diagnostic tools for IgE is an ongoing area of research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and characterize a novel multi-channel piezoelectric (PZ) micro-array immunosensor for the quantitative detection of human IgE in serum.
• To evaluate the performance of the developed immunosensor in terms of detection speed, precision, and accuracy compared to established methods.
• To assess the reusability and stability of the fabricated immunosensor.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a 2 x 5 multi-channel piezoelectric micro-array immunosensor using 10 MHz AT-cut quartz crystals.
• Immobilization of anti-IgE antibodies onto gold electrode surfaces via staphylococcal protein A (SPA) to create antibody monolayers.
• Quantitative detection of human IgE in serum samples within a specific concentration range.
• Comparison of results with commercially available ELISA test kits and assessment of reusability after regeneration.

Main Results:

• The multi-channel PZ immunosensor achieved eight times higher detection speeds compared to traditional one-channel sensors.
• The sensor demonstrated high precision (CV of 4%) for human IgE determination in the range of 5-300 IU/ml.
• Excellent agreement was observed between the PZ immunosensor and ELISA, with a correlation coefficient of 0.94.
• The immunosensor could be reused up to 6 times without significant loss of activity after NaOH regeneration.

Conclusions:

• The developed multi-channel piezoelectric micro-array immunosensor is a highly effective tool for rapid and quantitative detection of human IgE in serum.
• The sensor's design ensures non-interfering oscillation of crystal units, leading to improved performance and higher throughput.
• The high precision, accuracy, and reusability of the PZ immunosensor make it a promising alternative to conventional diagnostic methods for IgE quantification.