title: A SERS-based lateral flow assay biosensor for highly sensitive detection of HIV-1 DNA.
abstract: User-friendly lateral flow (LF) strips have been extensively used for point-of-care (POC) self-diagnostics, but they have some limitations in their detection sensitivity and quantitative analysis because they only identify the high cut-off value of a biomarker by utilizing color changes that are detected with the naked eye. To resolve these problems associated with LF strips, we developed a novel surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-based LF assay for the quantitative analysis of a specific biomarker in the low concentration range. Herein, human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) DNA was chosen as the specific biomarker. Raman reporter-labeled gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were employed as SERS nano tags for targeting and detecting the HIV-1 DNA marker, as opposed to using bare AuNPs in LF strips. It was possible to quantitatively analyze HIV-1 DNA with high sensitivity by monitoring the characteristic Raman peak intensity of the DNA-conjugated AuNPs. Under optimized conditions, the detection limit of our SERS-based lateral flow assay was 0.24 pg/mL, which was at least 1000 times more sensitive compared to colorimetric or fluorescent detection methods. These results demonstrate the potential feasibility of the proposed SERS-based lateral flow assay to quantitatively detect a broad range of genetic diseases with high sensitivity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bionano Technology, Hanyang University, Ansan 426-791, South Korea.
authors.forename: Xiuli
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: Department of Bionano Technology, Hanyang University, Ansan 426-791, South Korea.
authors.forename: Ziyi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Bionano Technology, Hanyang University, Ansan 426-791, South Korea.
authors.forename: Jimin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405-102, USA.
authors.forename: Priscilla
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Choo
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes and Ecological Remediation, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai 264003, China.
authors.forename: Lingxin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Bionano Technology, Hanyang University, Ansan 426-791, South Korea. Electronic address: jbchoo@hanyang.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Jaebum
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Choo
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood*; D015374:Biosensing Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D059026:Diagnostic Self Evaluation; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000097:blood* / Q000821:virology; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D006801:Humans; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry; D019095:Point-of-Care Systems; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D004279:DNA, Viral; D006046:Gold
keywords: DNA; Gold nanoparticles; Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1); Lateral flow assay; Surface-enhanced Raman scattering