Lateral flow immunoassay based on photon-upconversion nanoparticles for the detection of protein biomarkers
| Authors | |
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| Year of publication | 2022 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | The rapid and sensitive detection of protein biomarkers is essential for the early diagnosis and prevention of different kinds of diseases. Recently, lateral flow immunoassays (LFIAs) are becoming one of the most popular forms of tests for the detection of various analytes. The high selectivity of LFIAs is given by specific antibodies. Furthermore, there is no need for laboratory equipment to perform these assays, making them suitable for point-of-care testing (PoCT). Typically, gold nanoparticles are used as a label, allowing naked-eye readout. Even though it is highly convenient for PoCT testing, the sensitivity is not high enough to enable the detection of low abundance biomarkers. Therefore, different kinds of nanomaterials are being studied for use as alternative labels.Our work focused on the application of photon-upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) as a label in LFIA. UCNPs are lanthanide-doped nanocrystals exhibiting anti-Stokes luminescence (excitation by the NIR laser and emission in the Vis region), which allows for the detection without optical background interference. For biological applications, it is important to modify the UCNP surface. We have synthesized UCNPs doped with Yb3+ and Er3+ and conjugated them with specific antibodies. Such conjugates enabled the development of LFIA assays for the detection of different protein biomarkers, such as prostate-specific antigen or human serum albumin. Finally, UCNP-based LFIA was successfully used for detecting protein biomarkers in complex samples of blood and urine. The results demonstrate that UCNPs are a convenient alternative to gold nanoparticles to increase the sensitivity of LFIA tests. The rapid and sensitive detection of protein biomarkers is essential for the early diagnosis and prevention of different kinds of diseases. Recently, lateral flow immunoassays (LFIAs) are becoming one of the most popular forms of tests for the detection of various analytes. The high selectivity of LFIAs is given by specific antibodies. Furthermore, there is no need for laboratory equipment to perform these assays, making them suitable for point-of-care testing (PoCT). Typically, gold nanoparticles are used as a label, allowing naked-eye readout. Even though it is highly convenient for PoCT testing, the sensitivity is not high enough to enable the detection of low abundance biomarkers. Therefore, different kinds of nanomaterials are being studied for use as alternative labels. Our work focused on the application of photon-upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) as a label in LFIA. UCNPs are lanthanide-doped nanocrystals exhibiting anti-Stokes luminescence (excitation by the NIR laser and emission in the Vis region), which allows for the detection without optical background interference. For biological applications, it is important to modify the UCNP surface. We have synthesized UCNPs doped with Yb3+ and Er3+ and conjugated them with specific antibodies. Such conjugates enabled the development of LFIA assays for the detection of different protein biomarkers, such as prostate-specific antigen or human serum albumin. Finally, UCNP-based LFIA was successfully used for detecting protein biomarkers in complex samples of blood and urine. The results demonstrate that UCNPs are a convenient alternative to gold nanoparticles to increase the sensitivity of LFIA tests. |
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