Oriented Antibody Covalent Immobilization for Label-Free Impedimetric Detection of C-Reactive Protein via Direct and Sandwich Immunoassays

The detection and monitoring of biological markers as disease indicators in a simple manner is a subject of international interest. In this work, we report two simple and sensitive label-free impedimetric immunoassays for the detection of C-reactive protein (CRP). The gold electrode modified with boronic acid–terminated self-assembled monolayers afforded oriented immobilization of capture glycosylated antibody (antihuman CRP monoclonal antibody, mAb). This antibody-modified surface was able to capture human CRP protein, and the impedance signal showed linear dependence with CRP concentration. We confirmed the immobilization of anti-CRP mAb using surface sensitive X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electrochemical impedance. The oriented covalent immobilization of mAb was achieved using glycosylated Fc (fragment, crystallizable) region specific to boronic acid. The direct immunoassay exhibited a linear curve for concentration range up to 100 ng ml−1. The limit of detection (LoD) of 2.9 ng ml−1, limit of quantification (LoQ) of 9.66 ng ml−1, and sensitivity of 0.585 kΩ ng−1 ml cm−2 were obtained. The sandwich immunoassay was carried out by capturing polyclonal anti-CRP antibody (pAb) onto the CRP antigen immunoreaction. The impedance signal after pAb capture also showed linear dependence with CRP antigen concentration and acted as a CRP antigen detection signal amplifier. The detection of the CRP antigen using sandwich pAb immunoassay improved LoD to 1.2 ng ml−1, LoQ to 3.97 ng ml−1, and enhanced the sensitivity to 0.885 kΩ ng−1 ml cm−2. The real sample analysis, using newborn calf serum, showed excellent selectivity and % recovery for the human CRP ranging from 91.2 to 96.5%. The method was reproducible to 4.5% for direct immunoassay and 2.3% for sandwich immunoassay.

Highly Specific Chemiluminescence Immunoassay for the Determination of Chloramphenicol in Cosmetics

A direct and highly specific chemiluminescent enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (CL-ELISA) method for monitoring chloramphenicol (CAP) in cosmetics has been developed. The anti-chloramphenicol antibody (mAb) adopted in this work for direct immunoassay could bind to CAP specifically, with negligible cross-reactivity (CR) (less than 0.01%) with most CAP analogues, including structurally related thiamphenicol (TAP) and florfenicol (FF). The limit of detection (LOD), measured by IC10, was 0.0021 ng mL−1. The detection range (IC20-IC80) was ranged from 0.00979 to 0.12026 ng mL−1. In spiked cosmetics samples, mean recoveries ranged from 82.7% to 99.6%, with intraday and interday variation less than 9.8 and 8.2%, respectively. Moreover, with the help of HRP-labeled anti-CAP mAb, the method could be processed in fast direct immunoreaction mode. This CL-ELISA method could be applied for specific, rapid, semiquantitative, and quantitative detection of CAP in cosmetics, facilitating the precise quality control of CAP contamination.

Direct Immunoassay for Free Pregnancy-Associated Plasma Protein A (PAPP-A)

Background Pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A), especially in its noncomplexed form (fPAPP-A), is linked to vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques and risk of cardiac events. An assay for sensitive detection of fPAPP-A has been lacking. Our aim was to develop and validate a direct fPAPP-A assay to meet this need. Methods Monoclonal antibodies binding exclusively fPAPP-A were produced by immunizing mice with recombinant PAPP-A. In the optimized immunoassay, we used an fPAPP-A–specific capture antibody together with a lanthanide-chelate–labeled monoclonal antibody recognizing all PAPP-A forms. The assay was evaluated with CLSI guidelines and compared to a 2-assay subtractive fPAPP-A approach. Clinical performance was assessed with acute coronary syndrome patients. Results The limits of detection and quantitation were 0.4 mIU/L and 1.3 mIU/L, respectively, and the assay was linear up to 1000 mIU/L (R2 = 0.999). Both serum and heparin plasma were suitable matrices, and the complexed form of PAPP-A caused no significant interference. Correlation between the developed assay and the 2-assay approach was fair (Pearson's r = 0.819). Median concentration in healthy individuals was 1.0 mIU/L. fPAPP-A concentration was higher in patients who had myocardial infarction or died during the 1-year follow-up period than in those who did not (1.13 mIU/L vs 0.82 mIU/L, P = 0.008, model adjusted with age and sex). fPAPP-A measured with this direct assay predicted this end point as well as (follow-up 1 year) or better (30 days) than the 2-assay fPAPP-A alone or in combination with cTnI. Conclusions The new assay enables sensitive and reliable measurement of low cardiac-related fPAPP-A concentrations from blood samples.

Effect of Spacer and the Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay

The effect of spacers and the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) formats on the functional parameters of assays such as lower detection limit, inhibitory concentration at 50 per cent (IC50), and specificity were studied. Enzyme conjugates having hydrophobic and hydrophilic spacers were prepared using O-isopropyl methylphosphonic acid (IMPA) and horseradish peroxidase (HRP) as an enzyme label. Comparison was made with reference to enzyme conjugate without any spacer. The present investigation revealed that the presence of a hydrophilic spacer in the enzyme conjugate significantly improves the sensitivity of assays. An enhanced IC50 value achieved was 0.01 μg mL−1 for free antigen detection by direct immunoassay using hydrophilic spacers and precoating of ELISA plates by secondary antibody. The use of a hydrophilic spacer might have helped in projecting the hapten in the aqueous phase, leading to enhanced antibody binding signal and improved sensitivity of the assay.

Extrinsic surface-enhanced Raman scattering detection of influenza A virus enhanced by two-dimensional gold@silver core–shell nanoparticle arrays

A surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) based biosensor using a direct immunoassay platform was demonstrated for influenza A detection. The sensitivity was improved ~4 times by using a well-tuned Au@Ag 2D array instead of a flat Au film.

Determination of Bovine Immunoglobulin G in Bovine Colostrum Powders, Bovine Milk Powders, and Dietary Supplements Containing Bovine Colostrum Products by an Automated Direct Immunoassay with Optical Biosensor: Collaborative Study

Nine laboratories participated in an AOAC collaborative study to determine bovine immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels in selected dairy powders and dietary supplements by surface plasmon resonance (SPR) methodology. Each sample matrix was dissolved in buffer and suitably diluted to fit within the standard curve. The sample extract was injected over a surface functionalized with affinity-purified, polyclonal goat anti-bovine IgG (H+L) antibody; IgG was then detected. SPR detection was used for the direct immunoassay and quantification was made against a calibration curve prepared from bovine serum IgG. Between each standard and sample, the surface was regenerated using 10 mM glycine at pH 1.5. The samples analyzed included the likely matrixes for which the assay would find commercial use, namely, high- and low-protein-content colostrum powders, tablets containing colostrum powder, infant formula containing colostrum powder, and some IgG-containing dairy powders, i.e., milk protein isolate, whey protein concentrate, and skim milk powder. Each laboratory provided data for the study and assayed blind duplicates of seven materials. Due to gross outliers in the majority of results from one laboratory, the data from eight laboratories were used for the statistical analysis. The repeatability RSD (RSDr) values ranged from 3.2 to 7.3%, and the reproducibility RSDR values from 13.0 to 22.6%.