Feasibility of magnetic gold nanoparticles for use as reporter In a lateral flow immunoassay

• Main Author: Lee, Chleo Ke Rou
• Other Authors: Alfred Tok Iing Yoong
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Materials
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/73770
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Lateral flow assays are popular diagnostic tools which are constantly increasing in demand. However, the biggest challenges these assay face are that of limited sensitivity and specificity. A crucial aspect of the Lateral flow assay is the reporter particle used for visualization of signals. By enhancing the reporter particle used, the performance of the lateral flow assay can improve drastically. Popular reporters like Colloidal Gold and magnetic nanobeads have high sensitivity, stability and bio-compatibility: each reporter offering a unique advantage over the other. In this study, we try to combine the properties of colloidal gold and magnetic nanoparticles by synthesizing a novel composite reporter, a Gold Magnetic Particle (GMP), with enhanced optical properties and selectivity. Here we study the feasibility of GMP as reporter molecules to detect Troponin ITC, an important biomarker for myocardial infarction (MI). Detection limit of cardiac troponin is crucial in MI diagnosis and requires high specificity and selectivity. The assay was optimized to ensure sensitive and rapid quantitative detection of cardiac troponin. Affinity test between Antibody conjugated GMP with Troponin Complex ITC was carried out, and various characterization techniques like RGB analysis, UV-Spectroscopy and Dynamic Light Scattering technique were used to characterize the reporter particles and deduce the conjugation efficiency. Au-Mb is a promising reporter particle that can be extrapolated to other platforms and may offer sensitive quantification in the future, providing good optical properties and selectivity.