A Low-Cost, High-Performance System for Fluorescence Lateral Flow Assays

AbstractLateral flow assays (LFAs) are the best-performing and best-known point-of-care tests worldwide. Over the last decade, they have experienced an increasing interest by researchers towards improving their analytical performance while maintaining their robust assay platform. Commercially, visual and optical detection strategies dominate, but it is especially the research on integrating electrochemical (EC) approaches that may have a chance to significantly improve an LFA’s performance that is needed in order to detect analytes reliably at lower concentrations than currently possible. In fact, EC-LFAs offer advantages in terms of quantitative determination, low-cost, high sensitivity, and even simple, label-free strategies. Here, the various configurations of EC-LFAs published are summarized and critically evaluated. In short, most of them rely on applying conventional transducers, e.g., screen-printed electrode, to ensure reliability of the assay, and additional advances are afforded by the beneficial features of nanomaterials. It is predicted that these will be further implemented in EC-LFAs as high-performance transducers. Considering the low cost of point-of-care devices, it becomes even more important to also identify strategies that efficiently integrate nanomaterials into EC-LFAs in a high-throughput manner while maintaining their favorable analytical performance.

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Oligonucleotide-templated lateral flow assays for amplification-free sensing of circulating microRNAs

Chemical Communications ◽

10.1039/c9cc05607f ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 55 (83) ◽

pp. 12451-12454 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Suraj Pavagada ◽

Robert B. Channon ◽

Jason Y. H. Chang ◽

Sung Hye Kim ◽

David MacIntyre ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Preterm Birth ◽

Minimally Invasive ◽

Low Cost ◽

Maternal Blood ◽

Lateral Flow ◽

Early Prediction ◽

Circulating Micrornas ◽

Lateral Flow Assays

Low-cost detection of miRNA biomarkers from maternal blood is achieved via a highly sequence-specific templated reaction on nitrocellulose paper strips to enable early prediction of preterm birth in a minimally invasive manner.

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Electrospun Polycaprolactone Nanofibers as a Reaction Membrane for Lateral Flow Assay

Polymers ◽

10.3390/polym10121387 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (12) ◽

pp. 1387 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Chee Yew ◽

Pedram Azari ◽

Jane Choi ◽

Farina Muhamad ◽

Belinda Pingguan-Murphy

Keyword(s):

Flow Rate ◽

Point Of Care ◽

Low Cost ◽

Average Pore Size ◽

Lateral Flow ◽

Detection Sensitivity ◽

Average Pore ◽

Water Contact ◽

Naoh Solution ◽

Lateral Flow Assays

Electrospun polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofibers have emerged as a promising material in diverse biomedical applications due to their various favorable features. However, their application in the field of biosensors such as point-of-care lateral flow assays (LFA) has not been investigated. The present study demonstrates the use of electrospun PCL nanofibers as a reaction membrane for LFA. Electrospun PCL nanofibers were treated with NaOH solution for different concentrations and durations to achieve a desirable flow rate and optimum detection sensitivity in nucleic acid-based LFA. It was observed that the concentration of NaOH does not affect the physical properties of nanofibers, including average fiber diameter, average pore size and porosity. However, interestingly, a significant reduction of the water contact angle was observed due to the generation of hydroxyl and carboxyl groups on the nanofibers, which increased their hydrophilicity. The optimally treated nanofibers were able to detect synthetic Zika viral DNA (as a model analyte) sensitively with a detection limit of 0.5 nM. Collectively, the benefits such as low-cost of fabrication, ease of modification, porous nanofibrous structures and tunability of flow rate make PCL nanofibers a versatile alternative to nitrocellulose membrane in LFA applications. This material offers tremendous potential for a broad range of point-of-care applications.

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Engineering luminescent biosensors for point-of-care SARS-CoV-2 antibody detection

10.1101/2020.08.17.20176925 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Susanna K. Elledge ◽

Xin X. Zhou ◽

James R. Byrnes ◽

Alexander J. Martinko ◽

Irene Lui ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Whole Blood ◽

Point Of Care ◽

Low Cost ◽

Lateral Flow ◽

Antibody Detection ◽

Lateral Flow Assays ◽

Quantitative Results ◽

Development And Validation ◽

Antibody Tests ◽

Split Luciferase

Current serology tests for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies mainly take the form of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays or lateral flow assays, with the former being laborious and the latter being expensive and often lacking sufficient sensitivity and scalability. Here we present the development and validation of a rapid, low-cost solution-based assay to detect antibodies in serum, plasma, whole blood, and saliva, using rationally designed split luciferase antibody biosensors (spLUC). This new assay, which generates quantitative results in as short as 5 minutes, substantially reduces the complexity and improves the scalability of COVID-19 antibody tests for point-of-care and broad population testing.

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Improving Lateral Flow Assay Performance Using Computational Modeling

Annual Review of Analytical Chemistry ◽

10.1146/annurev-anchem-061417-125737 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 219-244 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

David Gasperino ◽

Ted Baughman ◽

Helen V. Hsieh ◽

David Bell ◽

Bernhard H. Weigl

Keyword(s):

Computational Models ◽

Low Cost ◽

Diagnostic Testing ◽

Computational Design ◽

Lateral Flow ◽

Health Care Practices ◽

Assay Performance ◽

Lateral Flow Assays ◽

Global Health Care ◽

Underlying Processes

The performance, field utility, and low cost of lateral flow assays (LFAs) have driven a tremendous shift in global health care practices by enabling diagnostic testing in previously unserved settings. This success has motivated the continued improvement of LFAs through increasingly sophisticated materials and reagents. However, our mechanistic understanding of the underlying processes that drive the informed design of these systems has not received commensurate attention. Here, we review the principles underpinning LFAs and the historical evolution of theory to predict their performance. As this theory is integrated into computational models and becomes testable, the criteria for quantifying performance and validating predictive power are critical. The integration of computational design with LFA development offers a promising and coherent framework to choose from an increasing number of novel materials, techniques, and reagents to deliver the low-cost, high-fidelity assays of the future.

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Lateral flow assays

Essays in Biochemistry ◽

10.1042/ebc20150012 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 60 (1) ◽

pp. 111-120 ◽

Cited By ~ 236

Author(s):

Katarzyna M. Koczula ◽

Andrea Gallotta

Keyword(s):

Low Cost ◽

Lateral Flow ◽

Environmental Sciences ◽

Advantages And Disadvantages ◽

Recent Advances ◽

Portable Detection ◽

Lateral Flow Assays ◽

Critical Components ◽

Diagnostic Applications ◽

Interpretation Of Results

Lateral flow assays (LFAs) are the technology behind low-cost, simple, rapid and portable detection devices popular in biomedicine, agriculture, food and environmental sciences. This review presents an overview of the principle of the method and the critical components of the assay, focusing on lateral flow immunoassays. This type of assay has recently attracted considerable interest because of its potential to provide instantaneous diagnosis directly to patients. The range and interpretation of results and parameters used for evaluation of the assay will also be discussed. The main advantages and disadvantages of LFAs will be summarized and relevant future improvements to testing devices and strategies will be proposed. Finally, the major recent advances and future diagnostic applications in the LFA field will be explored.

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Monoclonal Antibodies Application in Lateral Flow Immunochromatographic Assays for Drugs of Abuse Detection

Molecules ◽

10.3390/molecules26041058 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 26 (4) ◽

pp. 1058

Author(s):

Zidane Qriouet ◽

Yahia Cherrah ◽

Hassan Sefrioui ◽

Zineb Qmichou

Keyword(s):

High Performance ◽

Drugs Of Abuse ◽

Limit Of Detection ◽

Lateral Flow ◽

Detection Sensitivity ◽

Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry ◽

Resource Limited ◽

Short Period ◽

Reaction Gas Chromatography ◽

Lateral Flow Assays

Lateral flow assays (lateral flow immunoassays and nucleic acid lateral flow assays) have experienced a great boom in a wide variety of early diagnostic and screening applications. As opposed to conventional examinations (High Performance Liquid Chromatography, Polymerase Chain Reaction, Gas chromatography-Mass Spectrometry, etc.), they obtain the results of a sample’s analysis within a short period. In resource-limited areas, these tests must be simple, reliable, and inexpensive. In this review, we outline the production process of antibodies against drugs of abuse (such as heroin, amphetamine, benzodiazepines, cannabis, etc.), used in lateral flow immunoassays as revelation or detection molecules, with a focus on the components, the principles, the formats, and the mechanisms of reaction of these assays. Further, we report the monoclonal antibody advantages over the polyclonal ones used against drugs of abuse. The perspective on aptamer use for lateral flow assay development was also discussed as a possible alternative to antibodies in view of improving the limit of detection, sensitivity, and specificity of lateral flow assays.

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Integrated Nanomaterials and Nanotechnologies in Lateral Flow Tests for Personalized Medicine Applications

Nanomaterials ◽

10.3390/nano11092362 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (9) ◽

pp. 2362

Author(s):

Lucia Napione

Keyword(s):

Personalized Medicine ◽

Patient Monitoring ◽

Low Cost ◽

Detection Threshold ◽

Accurate Method ◽

Lateral Flow ◽

Diagnostic Tools ◽

Lateral Flow Assays ◽

The Right ◽

Lateral Flow Tests

The goal of personalized medicine is to target the right treatments to the right patients at the right time. Patients with a variety of cancers and other complex diseases are regularly tested as part of patient care, enabling physicians to personalize patient monitoring and treatment. Among the sought-after diagnostic tools, there is an increasing interest and need for those based on a low-cost, easy, rapid, and accurate method for the detection of specific circulating biomarkers above a detection threshold. Lateral flow tests (LFTs), enhanced by nanotechnology, can fulfil these requirements, providing a significant support to personalized patient monitoring. In this review, after a short historical synopsis of membrane-based lateral flow assays, including a description of a typical configuration of a LFT strip, a careful collection is presented of the best characterized nanotechnology approaches previously reported for the enhancement of target detection performance. The attempt is to offer an overview of currently integrated nanotechnologies in LFTs, fostering the actual future development of advantageous diagnostic devices for patient monitoring.

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