Immunosensors for point-of-care testing

초록

Although immuno-chromatographic assays on membrane strips have been employed at points of care for more than 20 years, their applications have become limited to qualitative analyses of the analytes present at relatively high concentrations in samples. An evolution of technology in this field will be required in order to achieve the capability of detection sufficient for early diagnosis as well as a degree of quantification sufficient to allow for the monitoring of the disease progress, a digital display of analytical results, and automatic recording and correlation in a database. In order to attain proper sensitivity, the colloidal gold normally used as a tracer for colorimetry may be replaced with different signal generators, including fluorophores, magnetic beads, electrochemiluminescent substances, and enzymes. The means by which antigen-antibody binding in the assay can be quantified as a measurable signal also varies, depending on the tracer employed and the transduction technology available. Indeed, we have devoted ourselves for more than ten years to the investigation of combinatorial substitutes consisting of novel immunosensors that fulfill the demands inherent to medical diagnostics. In this review, selected immunosensor technologies developed in our laboratories are introduced, along with their detection principles and analytical characteristics.

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