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Published on: November 13, 2021
Sensitive Colorimetric Detection of Interleukin-6 via Lateral Flow Assay Incorporated Silver Amplification Method
Mohammad Rahbar1, Yuling Wu2, J Anand Subramony3
1Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW, Australia.
Insights
A new lateral flow assay enables sensitive, low-cost detection of Interleukin-6 (IL-6) using gold nanoparticles and silver amplification. This point-of-care test offers a user-friendly alternative for diagnosing inflammatory diseases.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Immunotechnology
- Point-of-Care Diagnostics
Background:
- Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a critical cytokine for diagnosing inflammatory diseases.
- Existing IL-6 detection methods are costly, time-consuming, and complex.
- A need exists for a reliable, user-friendly, and low-cost point-of-care (POC) IL-6 detection platform.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel lateral flow assay for sensitive and quantitative colorimetric detection of IL-6.
- To improve upon existing diagnostic methods by creating a user-friendly and cost-effective POC test.
- To validate the assay's performance for IL-6 detection in human serum.
Main Methods:
- Development of a lateral flow assay utilizing anti-IL-6 antibodies conjugated to gold nanoparticles (AuNPs).
- Incorporation of a silver amplification technique to enhance colorimetric signal intensity.
- Testing and validation of the assay using human serum samples within physiological ranges (5-1000 pg/mL).
Main Results:
- Achieved a sensitive limit of detection of 5 pg/mL for IL-6 in serum with silver amplification.
- Demonstrated enhanced colorimetric signals compared to standard assays.
- Confirmed assay reliability through specificity and reproducibility tests for quantitative IL-6 measurement.
Conclusions:
- The developed lateral flow assay provides a sensitive, reliable, and user-friendly POC method for IL-6 detection.
- Silver amplification significantly improves the detection limit, making it suitable for clinical diagnostics.
- This assay represents a promising advancement for the rapid diagnosis of IL-6-associated inflammatory conditions.
Abstract:
Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a pro/anti-inflammatory cytokine, the quantitative detection of which has been extensively considered for diagnosis of inflammatory associated diseases. However, there has not yet been a reliable, low-cost, and user-friendly platform developed for point-of-care (POC) detection of IL-6, which will eliminate the conventional costly, time-consuming, and complex assays. In this work, we developed a lateral flow assay for colorimetric detection of IL-6, using anti-IL-6 antibodies conjugated to gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) as the detection probes. Silver amplification technique was incorporated with the newly developed assay in order to enhance the obtained colorimetric signals, allowing sensitive detection of IL-6 in human serum in the desired physiological ranges (i.e., 5-1000 pg/mL). A limit of detection of 5 pg/mL could be achieved for IL-6 detection in serum with the amplification step which was not achievable in the standard assay. The corresponding specificity and reproducibility tests were all preformed to confirm the reliability of this assay for quantitative measurement of IL-6 in a POC manner.
