Monitoring of Mycophenolic Acid in the Plasma of Transplant Patients by Capillary Electrophoresis

Plasma samples from 60 transplant patients on mycophenolate mofetil therapy were analysed using validated capillary electrophoresis (CE) method to determine mycophenolic acid (MPA) and its main metabolite mycophenolic acid glucuronide. Enzyme multiplied immunoassay technique (EMIT) values were available for the same samples. The differences between the results from the two methods was clarified by using Bland–Altman analysis and further statistical analysis. More than 90% of the results showed a positive bias, with EMIT giving higher levels than CE.     

Coagulation of antibody-sensitized latexes in the presence of antigen

The paper describes a study of the kinetics and mechanism of the coagulation of two types of immunoassays using sensitized latexes. The positive response to the first test is based on the aggregation of the gamma globulin (IgG)-coated polystyrene latexes in the presence of IgM rheumatoid antigen. The second test is relative to the heteroaggregation of two types of sensitized latexes induced by the presence of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG). In the latter test, two identical polystyrene latexes bearing carboxylic acid surface groups were sensitized by covalent coupling of monoclonal antibodies specific for the αHCG determinant on one type of latex and for the βHCG determinant on the other type. Using the Coulter Counter method, the aggregate size distribution c(n) was determined as a function of the number n of elementary constituents, thus enabling calculation of the number N(t) and weight S(t) average sizes of the aggregates. The temporal variations of the average sizes were compared with typical situtions of reaction-limited aggregation processes in order to characterize the mechanism of aggregation induced by antibody–antigen reactions.     

A New Hapten for Immunoassay of Aldicarb

Aldicarb, 2-methyl-2-(methylthio)propionaldehyde O-(methylcarbamoyl)oxime, is a systemic N-methylcarbamate insecticide and has been used on a variety of crops. It is moderately water soluble and considered as one of the most acutely toxic pesiticides. Ald…     

Dual gold nanoparticle lateflow immunoassay for sensitive detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7

Two patterns of signal amplification lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA), which used anti-mouse secondary antibody-linked gold nanoparticle (AuNP) for dual AuNP-LFIA were developed. Escherichia coli O157:H7 was selected as the model analyte. In the signal amplification direct LFIA method, anti-mouse secondary antibody-linked AuNP (anti-mouse-Ab-AuNP) was mixed with sample solution in an ELISA well, after which it was added to LFIA, which already contained anti-E. coli O157:H7 monoclonal antibody-AuNP (anti-E. coli O157:H7-mAb-AuNP) dispersed in the conjugate pad. Polyclonal antibody was the test line, and anti-mouse secondary antibody was the control line in nitrocellulose (NC) membrane. In the signal amplification indirect LFIA method, anti-mouse-Ab-AuNP was mixed with sample solution and anti-E. coli O157:H7-mAb-AuNP complex in ELISA well, creating a dual AuNP complex. This complex was added to LFIA, which had a polyclonal antibody as the test line and secondary antibody as the control line in NC membrane. The detection sensitivity of both LFIAs improved 100-fold and reached 1.14 × 10³ CFU mL⁻¹. The 28 nm and 45 nm AuNPs were demonstrated to be the optimal dual AuNP pairs. Signal amplification LFIA was perfectly applied to the detection of milk samples with E. coli O157:H7 via naked eye observation.     

Novel gold nanoparticle trimer reporter probe combined with dry-reagent cotton thread immunoassay device for rapid human ferritin test

We reported here for the first time on the use of cotton thread combined with novel gold nanoparticle trimer reporter probe for low-cost, sensitive and rapid detection of a lung cancer related biomarker, human ferritin. A model system comprising ferritin as an analyte and a pair of monoclonal antibodies was used to demonstrate the proof-of-concept on the dry-reagent natural cotton thread immunoassay device. Results indicated that the using of novel gold nanoparticle trimer reporter probe greatly improved the sensitivity comparing with traditional gold nanoparticle reporter probe on the cotton thread immunoassay device. The assay avoids multiple incubation and washing steps performed in most conventional protein analyses. Although qualitative tests are realized by observing the color change of the test zone, quantitative data are obtained by recording the optical responses of the test zone with a commercial scanner and corresponding analysis software. Under optimal conditions, the cotton thread immunoassay device was capable of measuring 10 ng/mL human ferritin under room temperature which is sensitive enough for clinical diagnosis. Moreover, the sample solution employed in the assays is just 8 μL, which is much less than traditional lateral flow strip based biosensors.     

Rapid and sensitive lateral flow immunoassay method for determining alpha fetoprotein in serum using europium (III) chelate microparticles-based lateral flow test strips

Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), a primary marker for many diseases including various cancers, is important in clinical tumor diagnosis and antenatal screening. Most immunoassays provide high sensitivity and accuracy for determining AFP, but they are expensive, often complex, time-consuming procedures. A simple and rapid point-of-care system that integrates Eu (III) chelate microparticles with lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) has been developed to determine AFP in serum with an assay time of 15 min. The approach is based on a sandwich immunoassay performed on lateral flow test strips. A fluorescence strip reader was used to measure the fluorescence peak heights of the test line (H_T) and the control line (H_C); the H_T/H_C ratio was used for quantitation. The Eu (III) chelate microparticles-based LFIA assay exhibited a wide linear range (1.0–1000 IU mL⁻¹) for AFP with a low limit of detection (0.1 IU mL⁻¹) based on 5ul of serum. Satisfactory specificity and accuracy were demonstrated and the intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation (CV) for AFP were both <10%. Furthermore, in the analysis of human serum samples, excellent correlation (n = 284, r = 0.9860, p < 0.0001) was obtained between the proposed method and a commercially available CLIA kit. Results indicated that the Eu (III) chelate microparticles-based LFIA system provided a rapid, sensitive and reliable method for determining AFP in serum, indicating that it would be suitable for development in point-of-care testing.     

Competitive and noncompetitive phage immunoassays for the determination of benzothiostrobin

Twenty-three phage-displayed peptides that specifically bind to an anti-benzothiostrobin monoclonal antibody (mAb) in the absence or presence of benzothiostrobin were isolated from a cyclic 8-residue peptide phage library. Competitive and noncompetitive phage enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) for benzothiostrobin were developed by using a clone C3-3 specific to the benzothiostrobin-free mAb and a clone N6-18 specific to the benzothiostrobin immunocomplex, respectively. Under the optimal conditions, the half maximal inhibition concentration (IC₅₀) of the competitive phage ELISA and the concentration of analyte producing 50% saturation of the signal (SC₅₀) of the noncompetitive phage ELISA for benzothiostrobin were 0.94 and 2.27 ng mL⁻¹, respectively. The noncompetitive phage ELISA showed higher selectivity compared to the competitive. Recoveries of the competitive and the noncompetitive phage ELISAs for benzothiostrobin in cucumber, tomato, pear and rice samples were 67.6–119.6% and 70.4–125.0%, respectively. The amounts of benzothiostrobin in the containing incurred residues samples detected by the two types of phage ELISAs were significantly correlated with that detected by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).     

Recent progress in the application of microfluidic systems and gold nanoparticles in immunoassays

Immunoassays are useful for many bioassays. Many new techniques and materials are introduced into the immunoassay to improve the efficiency. This paper reviews recent progress in the application of microfluidic systems and gold nanoparticles in immunoassay. The micro/nano technologies and materials can offer good sensitivity, fast detection, cost-effectiveness and easy signal readout. In particular, the miniaturization of microfluidics and colorimetric assays based on gold nanoparticles have dramatically im...     

Surface modification of hydrophobic NaYF_4:Yb,Er upconversion nanophosphors and their applications for immunoassay

β-NaYF4:Yb,Er upconversion nanophosphor (UCNP) is known as one of the most efficient NIR-to-visible upconversion materials, which shows great potential in bioanalytical chemistry and bioimaging. However, its applications are greatly limited due to its low water dispersibility and thus poor biocompatibility. In this paper, poly(acrylic acid) (PAA)-based ligand exchange strategies are carried out to modify oleic acid-capped hydrophobic β-NaYF4:Yb,Er UCNPs into hydrophilic ones. After efficient surface modific...     

磁分离酶联免疫测试分析仪的研制

给出了磁分离酶联免疫测试分析仪测试中成色物的吸光度与人体被测抗原的浓度之间的函数关系，通过试剂测试反应产物酚酞的吸光度与光的波长之间的函数关系，给出了磁分离酶联免疫测试分析仪的测试原理，讨论了根据非线性拟合所得到的参数，由测量得到的实际标本吸光度反算实际标本浓度的方法，给出了磁分离酶联免疫测试分析仪硬件电路的工作原理，提出硬件电路和软件系统的设计方案并且研制了样机。