Sample-to-Answer Immuno-Magnetic Assay Using Thermally Responsive Alkane Partitions.

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Immunodiagnostics
• Pandemic Preparedness

Background:

• Effective pandemic response requires rapid point-of-care diagnostics for patient identification and disease surveillance.
• Current diagnostics need improvement for detecting biomarkers like antibodies in whole blood at the point of care.
• Thermally Responsive Alkane Partitions (TRAPs) have been developed for automated immuno-magnetic assays.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate the utility of TRAPs for a sample-to-answer immunoassay.
• To detect antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in whole blood samples using TRAP technology.
• To establish the performance characteristics of this novel diagnostic approach.

Main Methods:

• Development and application of TRAP technology for automated immuno-magnetic assays.
• Utilizing TRAPs to enable direct detection of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies from whole blood.
• Quantification of antibody levels and determination of the limit of detection.

Main Results:

• Successful implementation of TRAP-enabled, sample-to-answer detection of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies.
• Achieved a limit of detection of 84 pg/mL, which is clinically relevant.
• Demonstrated the capability to analyze whole blood samples without prior processing.

Conclusions:

• TRAP technology facilitates rapid, sensitive, point-of-care detection of viral antibodies.
• This assay is suitable for tracking pandemic progression and informing clinical decisions.
• TRAP-enabled immunoassays offer a promising tool for future pandemic preparedness and response.