Lights, camera, action!

Coronavirus spike proteins can be selectively detected in 5 minutes.

Light-induced immunoassay coated with novel coronavirus spike proteins found highly sensitive even with weak light like a laser pointer.

Like moths to a flame, microbes can also be moved by light. Using this knowledge, researchers from Osaka Metropolitan University’s Research Institute for Light-induced Acceleration System (RILACS) have demonstrated a method to detect the presence of viruses quickly and using only a small sample.

The research team led by OMU Professor Takuya Iida, the director of RILACS, and Associate Professor Shiho Tokonami, the deputy director, report in npj Biosensing on a light-induced immunoassay. Using laser irradiation for less than 1 minute, a nanoparticle-imprinted plasmonic substrate with a series of nanobowl structures (500 nm in diameter for each) could be coated with antibodies for the spike proteins of the novel coronavirus. A 5-milliwatt laser, as low power as commercial laser pointers, could then form bubbles on the biochip that drew virus-mimicking nanoparticles, thereby accelerating the selective detection of the particles.

Because light-induced convection helps move the nanoparticles around so that they end up assembling at the stagnant region between the substrate surface and the bottom of the bubble, a high concentration of the particles was not required. In under 5 minutes, the entire process, from substrate coating to detection, could be completed.

“This study shows that we can shorten the cumbersome antibody coating process and perform rapid and highly sensitive protein detection,” Professor Iida proclaimed. “We believe our findings can contribute to the early diagnosis of not only the novel coronavirus, but possibly also various infectious diseases, cancer, even dementia.”

About OMU

Established in Osaka as one of the largest public universities in Japan, Osaka Metropolitan University is committed to shaping the future of society through “Convergence of Knowledge” and the promotion of world-class research. For more research news, visit https://www.omu.ac.jp/en/ and follow us on social media: X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn.

Journal: npj Biosensing
DOI: 10.1038/s44328-024-00004-z
Method of Research: Experimental study
Subject of Research: Cells
Article Title: High-throughput light-induced immunoassay with milliwatt-level laser under one-minute optical antibody-coating on nanoparticle-imprinted substrate
Article Publication Date: 26-Jun-2024
COI Statement: The authors declare no competing interests.

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