Allergen diagnosis microarray with high-density immobilization capacity using diamond-like carbon-coated chips for profiling allergen-specific IgE and other immunoglobulins

The diagnosis of antibody-mediated allergic disorders is based on clinical findings, skin prick tests and detection of allergen-specific IgE in serum. Here, we present a new microarray technique of high-density antigen immobilization using carboxylated arms on the surface of a diamond-like carbon (DLC)-coated chip. High immobilization capacity of antigen on DLC chip at (0.94–7.82) × 10⁹ molecules mm⁻² allowed the analysis of allergen-specific immunoglobulins against not only purified proteins but also natural allergen extracts with wide assay dynamic range. The higher sensitivity of the allergen-specific IgE detection on DLC chip was observed for comparison with the UniCAP system: the DLC chip allowed lowering the limit of dilution rate in UniCAP system to further dilution at 4–8-fold. High correlations (ρ > 0.9–0.85) of allergen-specific IgE values determined by the DLC chip and UniCAP were found in most of 20 different allergens tested. The DLC chip was useful to determine allergen-induced antibodies of IgA, IgG, IgG1, and IgG4 in sera, apart from IgE, as well as secretory IgA in saliva against the same series of allergens on the chip in a minimal amount (1–2 μL) of sample.