| Serological tests play an important role in the surveillance and management of epidemics or pandemics, as well as in acquired immunity studies. Currently, COVID-19 serology is performed by well-established immunoassay techniques, which provide high sensitivities, but require specialized laboratories with trained personnel and processing times of 3 to 48 hours. | |
| A much faster and easier method is the lateral flow assay— such as the rapid diagnostic tests sold in pharmacies. However, the latter are not fully reliable, as they exhibit only moderate sensitivity and specificity. | |
| A team of researchers led by Prof. Laura M. Lechuga, CSIC Research Professor and head of the NanoBiosensors and Bioanalytical Applications Group at the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), has developed and extensively validated a novel serological nano-biosensor that provides a rapid (less than 15 minutes) identification and quantification of SARS-COV-2 antibodies in blood serum, without the need for sample pre-treatment and lengthy processing. It employs an optical sensing device based on a plasmonic technique that Prof. Lechuga’s group has been consolidating for years and has implemented for the diagnostics of diverse diseases and conditions –such as detection of cancer biomarkers, gluten ingestion or antibiotic allergy. |
| Extensive testing on clinical samples, provided by the Vall d’Hebron University Hospital and the Hospital Clínic of Barcelona–IDIBAPS during the first months of COVID-19 pandemic, was performed to prove the efficacy and reliability of this biosensor technology. In particular, 120 samples of serum were used, of which 100 from confirmed COVID-19 positive patients and 20 negative ones (collected prior to the outbreak of the pandemic). Comparative analyses with standard techniques and commercial lateral flow assays showed that this plasmonic biosensor technology outperforms well-established diagnostic methods, providing excellent sensitivity (99%) and specificity (100%). | |
| Such remarkable accuracy and the short operation times (the result is available in less than 15 minutes) make of this new biosensor an outstanding tool for rapid and reliable serological tests. Fast and quantitative serology is crucial for monitoring the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic, managing patients’ hospitalization and placement in intensive care units and assessing the immunological status of individuals during vaccination campaigns and in the presence of emerging variants of the virus. | |
| Since the read-out device is compact and the procedure can be automatized, this technology has also potential for point-of-care applications and could be introduced in doctors’ practices and pharmacies. In addition, the same technique can be employed for the detection of various substances in body fluids –such as gluten peptides, early cancer biomarkers, anticoagulant drugs, or antibiotic allergy antibodies — thus, for the diagnostics and monitoring of many diseases. | |
| The readiness level of this technique is already very high and their developers are committed to achieve a fast technology transfer to industry, in order to introduce this new biosensor device both in the clinical environment and in decentralised settings. Watch this animation illustrating how a portable read-out device with disposal cartridges would work. | |
| The results of this study, carried out in the framework of the EU funded project CoNVaT, have been published in Analytical Chemistry (“Label-Free Plasmonic Biosensor for Rapid, Quantitative, and Highly Sensitive COVID-19 Serology: Implementation and Clinical Validation”). The research has been developed by Prof Lechuga’s group in collaboration with the Intensive Care and Clinical Microbiology Departments of the Vall d’Hebron University Hospital (Barcelona, Spain), the Department of Pneumology of the Hospital Clínic of Barcelona-IDIBAPS, and the Emerging Virus Unit of Aix-Marseille University (France). Senior researchers Dr Maria Soler and Dr M. Carmen Estévez are the corresponding authors, while PhD student Olalla Calvo-Lozano is the first author, having performed the optimization and validation of the system. |
News
Scientists study lipids cell by cell, making new cancer research possible
Imagine being able to look inside a single cancer cell and see how it communicates with its neighbors. Scientists are celebrating a new technique that lets them study the fatty contents of cancer cells, [...]
Antibiotic Breakthrough: Revolutionary Chinese Study Paves Way for Superbug Defeating Drugs
New research reveals that fluorous lipopetides act as highly effective antibiotics. Bacterial infections resistant to multiple drugs, which no existing antibiotics can treat, represent a significant worldwide challenge. A research group from China has [...]
Signs of Multiple Sclerosis Show Up in Blood Years Before Symptoms Appear
UCSF scientists clear a potential path toward earlier treatment for a disease that affects nearly 1,000,000 people in the United States. By Levi Gadye In a discovery that could hasten treatment for patients with multiple [...]
Advanced RNA Sequencing Reveals the Drivers of New COVID Variants
A study reveals that a new sequencing technique, tARC-seq, can accurately track mutations in SARS-CoV-2, providing insights into the rapid evolution and variant development of the virus. The SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID has the unsettling [...]
No More Endless Boosters? Scientists Develop One-for-All Virus Vaccine
End of the line for endless boosters? Researchers at UC Riverside have developed a new vaccine approach using RNA that is effective against any strain of a virus and can be used safely even by babies or the immunocompromised. Every [...]
How Are Hydrogels Shaping the Future of Biomedicine?
Hydrogels have gained widespread recognition and utilization in biomedical engineering, with their applications dating back to the 1960s when they were first used in contact lens production. Hydrogels are distinguished from other biomaterials in [...]
Nanovials method for immune cell screening uncovers receptors that target prostate cancer
A recent UCLA study demonstrates a new process for screening T cells, part of the body's natural defenses, for characteristics vital to the success of cell-based treatments. The method filters T cells based on [...]
New Research Reveals That Your Sense of Smell May Be Smarter Than You Think
A new study published in the Journal of Neuroscience indicates that the sense of smell is significantly influenced by cues from other senses, whereas the senses of sight and hearing are much less affected. A popular [...]
Deadly bacteria show thirst for human blood: the phenomenon of bacterial vampirism
Some of the world's deadliest bacteria seek out and feed on human blood, a newly-discovered phenomenon researchers are calling "bacterial vampirism." A team led by Washington State University researchers has found the bacteria are [...]
Organ Architects: The Remarkable Cells Shaping Our Development
Finding your way through the winding streets of certain cities can be a real challenge without a map. To orient ourselves, we rely on a variety of information, including digital maps on our phones, [...]
Novel hydrogel removes microplastics from water
Microplastics pose a great threat to human health. These tiny plastic debris can enter our bodies through the water we drink and increase the risk of illnesses. They are also an environmental hazard; found [...]
Researchers Discover New Origin of Deep Brain Waves
Understanding hippocampal activity could improve sleep and cognition therapies. Researchers from the University of California, Irvine’s biomedical engineering department have discovered a new origin for two essential brain waves—slow waves and sleep spindles—that are critical for [...]
The Lifelong Cost of Surviving COVID: Scientists Uncover Long-Term Effects
Many of the individuals released to long-term acute care facilities suffered from conditions that lasted for over a year. Researchers at UC San Francisco studied COVID-19 patients in the United States who survived some of the longest and [...]
Previously Unknown Rogue Immune Key to Chronic Viral Infections Discovered
Scientists discovered a previously unidentified rogue immune cell linked to poor antibody responses in chronic viral infections. Australian researchers have discovered a previously unknown rogue immune cell that can cause poor antibody responses in [...]
Nature’s Betrayal: Unmasking Lead Lurking in Herbal Medicine
A case of lead poisoning due to Ayurvedic medicine use demonstrates the importance of patient history in diagnosis and the need for public health collaboration to prevent similar risks. An article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association [...]
Frozen in Time: How a DNA Anomaly Misled Scientists for Centuries
An enormous meteor spelled doom for most dinosaurs 65 million years ago. But not all. In the aftermath of the extinction event, birds — technically dinosaurs themselves — flourished. Scientists have spent centuries trying [...]
