Feasibility of a simple microsieve-based immunoassay platform.
Daniel R Zweitzig1, Arjan G Tibbe2, Ai T Nguyen3
1ZEUS Scientific Inc., 200 Evans Way, Branchburg, NJ 08876, USA.
Journal of Immunological Methods
|July 25, 2016
Summary
Silicon microsieves offer a novel platform for rapid diagnostics. This study demonstrates their feasibility for detecting infectious disease antibodies, showing comparable results to ELISA tests.
Area of Science:
- Biotechnology
- Materials Science
- Immunodiagnostics
Background:
- Silicon microsieves possess advantageous properties like optical flatness, high porosity, and low flow resistance, making them suitable for biotechnology.
- Traditional immunoassay platforms can be time-consuming and require complex instrumentation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the feasibility of a microsieve-based immunoassay platform for detecting infectious disease antibodies.
- To evaluate the performance of the microsieve immunoassay compared to established methods like ELISA.
Main Methods:
- Microsieves with 5μm pores were functionalized with poly-acrylic acid and mounted for reagent wicking.
- Microsieves were coated with antigens for Rubella, Lyme disease (B. burgdorferi), and syphilis (T. pallidum).
- The platform's ability to detect specific antibodies in control and clinical serum samples was assessed.
Main Results:
- The microsieve immunoassay successfully distinguished positive from negative control sera for Rubella, Lyme disease, and syphilis.
- The T. pallidum microsieve assay demonstrated comparable or lower detection limits than ELISA for syphilitic IgG.
- The T. pallidum microsieve assay showed high agreement (R²=0.9046) with ELISA for clinical samples.
Conclusions:
- Microsieves, combined with a wicking device, present a viable and simple platform for diagnostic immunoassays.
- This technology holds potential for developing rapid and sensitive point-of-care diagnostic tools for infectious diseases.
