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Updated: Apr 10, 2026
Application of Biochip Microfluidic Technology to Detect Serum Allergen-specific Immunoglobulin E sIgE
Published on: April 21, 2019
Microfluidic system for high-throughput immunoglobulin-E analysis from clinical serum samples
Lulu Zheng1, Yongfeng Fu2, Xiran Jiang1
1Shanghai Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Particle Pollution Prevention (LAP3), Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai 200433, PR China.
Insights
A new microfluidic system enables rapid, high-throughput analysis of allergen-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) using minimal serum. This advancement is crucial for pediatric allergy testing, reducing patient discomfort and costs.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Immunology
- Analytical Chemistry
Background:
- Accurate and efficient detection of allergen-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) is vital for diagnosing allergic diseases.
- Current methods often require significant serum volumes, posing challenges, particularly for pediatric patients who experience discomfort from venous blood draws.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel microfluidic system for high-throughput, parallel analysis of allergen-specific IgE.
- To significantly reduce the required sample volume for IgE testing.
Main Methods:
- A six-plex immunoassay was integrated onto a microfluidic chip.
- The system was validated using clinical patient samples against common allergens including house dust mites, cat dander, fungus, ragweed, and tree pollen.
Main Results:
- The microfluidic system achieved a sample consumption of less than 0.05 µL, a substantial reduction compared to traditional methods (UniCAP, ELISA, protein chip analysis).
- Analysis duration, reagent costs, and overall measurement costs were considerably decreased.
- The assay demonstrated good accuracy and sensitivity, with results correlating significantly with established methods.
Conclusions:
- The developed microfluidic system offers a rapid, cost-effective, and highly sensitive platform for allergen-specific IgE detection.
- This technology significantly improves upon existing methods, especially for pediatric applications requiring minimal blood samples.
Abstract:
Rapid and high-throughput analytical techniques for IgE that requires a small serum amount are very important, especially for pediatric patients. In these patients, blood is collected from veins, which is painful compared to fingertip blood collection. Herein, a novel microfluidic system capable of high-throughput parallel analyses of allergen-specific IgE from small amounts of patient serum was successfully developed. A six-plex immunoassay was constructed within a microfluidic chip, and the entire system was validated using samples from clinical patients. Major antigens from house dust mite (Dermatophagoides farinae and Blomia tropicalis), cat (Felis domesticus), fungus (Cladosporium herbarum), ragweed (Humulus japonicas), and tree pollen (Platanus acerifolia) were used as analysis targets. Sample consumption decreased to <0.05 µL compared with the 480µL serum consumption by fluoroenzyme immunoassay (UniCAP system Pharmacia Diagnostics AB, Uppsala, Sweden), the 50 µL serum consumption by enzyme-linked immune sorbent assay (ELISA), or the 1.5 µL serum consumption by conventional protein chip analysis. Analysis duration, reagent cost, and total cost for each measurement were also considerably decreased. The assay showed good accuracy and sensitivity toward the clinical samples. A significant correlation of allergen-specific IgE levels was found among the microfluidic assay, UniCAP system, and ELISA.
