Development of a canine blood C-reactive protein-measuring device using a flow-type immunosensor

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Analytical Chemistry
• Veterinary Diagnostics

Background:

• Automated analyzers and immunoturbidimetric reagents are standard for C-reactive protein (CRP) measurement.
• Developing alternative, high-performance diagnostic tools is crucial for veterinary medicine.
• Flow-type immunosensors (FIS) offer potential for rapid and sensitive immunoassays.

Purpose of the Study:

• To construct a flow-type immunosensor (FIS) for canine C-reactive protein (CRP) measurement.
• To evaluate the analytical performance of the developed FIS.
• To compare the FIS performance against a standard automated analyzer method.

Main Methods:

• Construction of a fluorescence-linked immunosorbent assay (FLISA) based FIS.
• Assessment of FIS performance using control samples, repeatability, and intermediate precision tests.
• Determination of the lower limit of quantification and linearity.
• Comparative analysis of canine plasma CRP levels measured by FIS and an automated analyzer.

Main Results:

• The FIS demonstrated high precision with coefficients of variation below 2.4% (repeatability) and 4.4% (intermediate precision).
• The system achieved a lower limit of quantification of 3.9 mg/L with linearity confirmed up to 465 mg/L.
• A high correlation (R=0.9809) was observed between FIS and automated analyzer measurements, with 38 of 39 samples within acceptable error limits.

Conclusions:

• The developed FIS exhibits analytical accuracy and quantitative capability for canine CRP equivalent to conventional automated systems.
• FIS presents a viable alternative for accurate and reliable C-reactive protein quantification in veterinary diagnostics.
• This technology holds promise for improving diagnostic efficiency in veterinary clinical settings.