Improving the immunoassay for procalcitonin detection using an aeroelastic agitator: A feasibility study

Procalcitonin (PCT) is an important biomarker of bacterial infections. Detection of serum PCT is of great significance in diagnosis and therapy of a variety of diseases. In this work it is measured through immunoassay using antibody-conjugated fluorescent microspheres. To improve the binding efficiency of PCT antigen and antibody, an aeroelastic agitator is designed. Through alternate perturbations, it produces chaotic advection to enhance the fluid mixing. The influences of key design and operating factors are analyzed, including the geometrical parameters, the driving pressure, and the alternating period. Then the agitator is applied for PCT detection and its performance is compared with an ultrasonic mixer. Results show that the chaotic mixing significantly improves the capturing efficiency of PCT antigen, leading to a better detection consistency and reliability. The fluorescence intensity correlates fairly well with the serum PCT concentration in the range of 0.02 ng/ml-49.56 ng/ml.

Automated summary

This study improves the capturing efficiency of Procalcitonin (PCT) antigen by using an aeroelastic agitator that produces chaotic advection to enhance fluid mixing. The performance of the agitator is compared with an ultrasonic mixer, and the results show that chaotic mixing significantly improves PCT detection consistency and reliability.