Point-of-Care Immunoassays with Tunable Detection Range for Detecting Infection in Intensive Care Unit

One of the difficulties of a multiplexed analytical assay is matching the concentration range of different markers. Here, the authors develop an automatic, multiplexed point-of-care (POC) immunoassay that allows detecting C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), and interleukin 6 (IL-6) in 50 mu L serum samples with limits of detection 1.87 mu g/mL, 0.17 ng/mL, and 49.75 pg/mL, respectively. The authors use electrospun fibers and surface chemistry of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) to adjust the detection range of different biomarkers. The authors have proposed some new diagnostic indicators (mScore and mScorePlus) that combine the results of CRP, PCT, IL-6, and complete blood counts (CBCs). The authors also tracked changes in CRP, PCT, and IL-6 of patients in an intensive care unit (ICU). The authors find that mScore and mScorePlus have advantages in improving the diagnostic accuracy and providing more analytical information. mScore and mScorePlus are effective tools to detect infections, differentiate bacterial and viral infections, and monitor disease. Integrating multiple markers into one straightforward parameter is an effective method for analytical applications. The authors believe that this method provides a general way for chemists to develop increasingly accurate detection methods and indicators. [GRAPHICS] .

Automated summary

The authors developed an automatic, multiplexed point-of-care immunoassay for detecting multiple biomarkers in serum samples. They proposed new diagnostic indicators mScore and mScorePlus which showed advantages in improving diagnostic accuracy and providing more analytical information. Integrating multiple markers into one parameter is an effective method for analytical applications.