title: An immunochromatographic biosensor combined with a water-swellable polymer for automatic signal generation or amplification.
abstract: An immunochromatographic assay (ICA) strip is one of the most widely used platforms in the field of point-of-care biosensors for the detection of various analytes in a simple, fast, and inexpensive manner. Currently, several approaches for sequential reactions in ICA platforms have improved their usability, sensitivity, and versatility. In this study, a new, simple, and low-cost approach using automatic sequential-reaction ICA strip is described. The automatic switching of a reagent pad from separation to attachment to the test membrane was achieved using a water-swellable polymer. The reagent pad was dried with an enzyme substrate for signal generation or with signal-enhancing materials. The strip design and system operation were confirmed by the characterization of the raw materials and flow analysis. We demonstrated the operation of the proposed sensor by using various chemical reaction-based assays, including metal-ion amplification, enzyme-colorimetric reaction, and enzyme-catalyzed chemiluminescence. Furthermore, by employing C-reactive protein as a model, we successfully demonstrated that the new water-swellable polymer-based ICA sensor can be utilized to detect biologically relevant analytes in human serum.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), 123 Cheomdangwagi-ro, Buk-gu, Gwangju 61005, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Kahee
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), 123 Cheomdangwagi-ro, Buk-gu, Gwangju 61005, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyou-Arm
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Joung
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), 123 Cheomdangwagi-ro, Buk-gu, Gwangju 61005, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Gyeo-Re
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), 123 Cheomdangwagi-ro, Buk-gu, Gwangju 61005, Republic of Korea; INGIbio Co. Ltd., R&D Center, 206, APRI, 123 Chemdangwagi-ro, Buk-gu, Gwangju 61005, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: mkim@gist.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Min-Gon
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D015374:Biosensing Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis*; D002846:Chromatography, Affinity / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D049449:Luminescence; D008163:Luminescent Measurements / Q000295:instrumentation; D019095:Point-of-Care Systems; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D011934:Reagent Strips / Q000032:analysis; D012995:Solubility; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D011108:Polymers; D011934:Reagent Strips; D014867:Water; D002097:C-Reactive Protein
keywords: Automatic sequential reaction; C-reactive protein; Chemiluminescence; Lateral flow immunoassay; Signal amplification; Water-swellable polymer