Tailoring noble metal nanoparticle designs to enable sensitive lateral flow immunoassay

Abstract

Lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) as signal reporters is a popular point-of-care diagnostic technique. However, given the weak absorbance of traditional 20-40 nm spherical AuNPs, their sensitivity is low, which greatly limits the wide application of AuNP-based LFIA. With the rapid advances in materials science and nanotechnology, the synthesis of noble metal nanoparticles (NMNPs) has enhanced physicochemical properties such as optical, plasmonic, catalytic, and multifunctional activity by simply engineering their physical parameters, including the size, shape, composition, and external structure. Using these engineered NMNPs as an alternative to traditional AuNPs, the sensitivity of LFIA has been significantly improved, thereby greatly expanding the working range and application scenarios of LFIA, particularly in trace analysis. Therefore, in this review, we will focus on the design of engineered NMNPs and their demonstration in improving LFIA. We highlight the strategies available for tailoring NMNP designs, the effect of NMNP engineering on their performance, and the working principle of each engineering design for enhancing LFIA. Finally, current challenges and future improvements in this field are briefly discussed.

A sensitive and rapid method of lead detection using nanoparticle technology based on monoclonal antibody

“…In such a case, it is hardly satisfying for the requirement of rapid detection on site. Considering that LFIA has been widely used in fields of rapid detection ( Zhou et al, 2020 ; Chen et al, 2022 ), two types of AuNP (AuNS and AuNF), which have different diameters and shapes ( Figure 4 ), have been developed for establishment of LFIA probes in this study. Two types of AuNP-based strips were all effective for Pb detection ( Figure 5 ), which are suitable for rapid Pb detection.…”

“…In this study, the optimal concentration of antibodies for AuNF labeling is 28.8 μg/ml versus 24 μg/ml for AuNS. On the other hand, AuNF exhibits higher optical brightness, which was possibly due to the tips of AuNF and large-size diameter ( Xu et al, 2016 ; Chen et al, 2022 ).Thus, more sensitive LFIA methods of Pb detection are theoretically possible through tailoring nanoparticle designs ( Zhou et al, 2019 ; Chen et al, 2022 ; Duan et al, 2022 ). Although the detailed mechanism is unclear, the AuNF-based strip is more sensitive for Pb detection in this study.…”

“…Lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) has been widely used in food and environmental detection, which works with the migration of a liquid sample through a porous membrane by capillary action ( Zhou et al, 2019 ; Chen et al, 2022 ). Biological interactions take place at specific detection zones of the membrane to produce a signal that can be visualized through use of colored nanoparticles ( Connolly & O', 2017 ).…”

Rapid colloidal gold immunochromatographic assay for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 total antibodies after vaccination

“…The second function is as a reaction carrier; this is because nanomaterials have a very high specific surface area, which can increase the probability of intermolecular reaction collisions, accelerate reaction times and improve sensitivity. 4 Among many nanomaterials, quantum dots, 5,6 magnetic nanoparticles, 7 noble metal nanoparticles 8 and colloidal gold nanoparticles 9 are the most common, and theses have all been applied to the lateral flow test. Of these, colloidal gold nanoparticles have become the preferred signal in lateral flow tests due to their excellent stability and large signal.…”

Cysteamine-Gold Coated Carboxylated Fluorescent Nanoparticle Mediated Point-of-Care Dual-Modality Detection of the H5N1 Pathogenic Virus

“…Improvements have been attempted by equipping the devices with noble metal nanoparticles (such as Silver (Ag), Platinum (Pt), Iridium oxide (IrO 2 ), Iron (II, III) oxide (Fe₃O₄), Selenium (Se)), and quantum dots (QDs). However, the specific issues have not yet been fixed [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ].…”