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Seafood Allergy Test Based on Immobilized Allergens in a Microfluidic Chip
Chunqian Zuo1, Ruirui Xu1, Qin Qin2
1College of Food Science and Technology, Shanghai Ocean University (SHOU), 999 Hucheng Ring Road, Pudong New District, Shanghai 201306, China.
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
|October 20, 2025
Summary
This study introduces a new method for detecting seafood-specific immunoglobulin E (sIgE) antibodies in human serum using microfluidic channels and mass spectrometry for improved allergy diagnosis.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Analytical Chemistry
- Biotechnology
Background:
- Food allergies, particularly IgE-mediated reactions, pose a significant global health challenge.
- Accurate and sensitive detection of specific immunoglobulin E (sIgE) antibodies is crucial for diagnosing food allergies.
- Current diagnostic methods may have limitations in sensitivity or specificity for certain allergens.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a novel method for detecting seafood-specific immunoglobulin E (sIgE) antibodies in human serum.
- To assess the performance characteristics of the developed detection protocol.
- To demonstrate the utility of the method in distinguishing between allergic and non-allergic individuals.
Main Methods:
- Immobilization of seafood allergens onto microfluidic channels for sIgE capture.
- Elution and characterization of captured sIgE using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS).
- Quantification of sIgE peptides and assessment of protein loss during serial detections.
Main Results:
- The developed protocol demonstrated excellent performance for sIgE analysis in serum.
- A low decrease (9.1%) in identified sIgE peptides and a manageable magnetic bead-bound protein loss rate (16.29%) were observed over four detection cycles.
- The limit of detection (LOD) achieved was in the femtomolar range, indicating high sensitivity suitable for clinical application.
- Successful differentiation between sera from parvalbumin-allergic patients and non-allergic controls was achieved.
Conclusions:
- The developed microfluidic-based MALDI-TOF MS method offers a sensitive and reliable approach for detecting seafood-specific sIgE antibodies.
- This novel strategy has the potential to significantly advance the diagnosis of IgE-mediated food allergies.
- The method's high sensitivity and specificity support its application in clinical allergy testing and research.
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