Coordination/Assembly Twin-Boosted Lateral Flow Immunochromatographic Assay: Metal-Organic Framework-Mediated Visual...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Materials Science
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Lateral flow immunochromatographic assay (LFIA) is a widely used point-of-care testing method.
• The sensitivity of conventional LFIA is limited by the signal intensity of traditional probes, hindering the detection of low-abundance biomarkers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an ultrasensitive LFIA platform by integrating metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for enhanced signal generation.
• To improve the detection limit and quantitative capability of LFIA for low-abundance biomarkers.

Main Methods:

• A novel Coordination/Assembly Twin-Boosted LFIA (CATB-LFIA) platform was designed using zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) as a bifunctional scaffold.
• ZIF-8 facilitated a coordination-driven signal enhancement strategy utilizing exposed Zn²⁺ sites for chromogenic product generation.
• High-density loading of gold nanoparticles within ZIF-8 further amplified the colorimetric signal.

Main Results:

• CATB-LFIA demonstrated a 25-50-fold reduction in the limit of detection for carcinoembryonic antigen compared to conventional LFIA.
• The platform showed accurate quantitative capability and good discriminatory performance in clinical serum samples.
• MOFs were proven effective as multifunctional carriers for enhancing LFIA sensitivity.

Conclusions:

• MOF-based signal programming offers a powerful strategy for developing ultrasensitive diagnostic platforms.
• CATB-LFIA represents a significant advancement in LFIA technology, enabling sensitive detection of low-abundance biomarkers.
• This work provides a novel, modular design for constructing next-generation point-of-care diagnostic tools.