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Electrochemical methods offer great promise in meeting the demand for user-friendly on-site devices for Monitoring important parameters. The food industry often runs own lab procedures, for example, for mycotoxin analysis, but it is a major goal to simplify analysis, linking analytical methods with smart technologies. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, with photometric detection of 3,3’,5,5’-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB),form a good basis for sensitive detection. To provide a straightforward approach for the miniaturization of the detectionstep, we have studied the pitfalls of the electrochemical TMB detection. By cyclic voltammetry it was found that the TMB electrochemistry is strongly dependent on the pH and the electrode material. A stable electrode response to TMB could be achieved at pH 1 on gold electrodes. We created a smartphonebased, electrochemical, immunomagnetic assay for the detection of ochratoxin A in real samples, providing a solid basis forsensing of further analytes.
Partikelbasierte Multianalyt- Fluoreszenzimmunoassays für die Unweltanalytik und Biotechnologie
(2021)
Zur Beurteilung der Wasserqualität können Markersubstanzen, wie Carbamazepin, Diclofenac, Koffein und Gallensäuren, verwendet werden. Erhöhte Konzentrationen dieser anthropogenen Marker weisen auf Einleitstellen von Abwasser hin und zeigen somit an, wo Gewässer verschmutzt werden. Diese Arbeit beschreibt deshalb die Etablierung, Optimierung und Validierung eines partikelbasierten Suspensionsarray Fluoreszenzimmunoassays (SAFIA), mit dem diese Substanzen gleichzeitig und parallel in vielen Proben quantitativ bestimmt werden können. Für SAFIA wurde das Format des kompetitiven indirekten Immunoassays gewählt. Als Plattform wurden fluoreszenzintensitätscodierte Polystyrol-Kern/Siliziumdioxid-Schale-Partikel, auf deren Oberfläche Haptene als kompetitive Bindungsstellen für Antikörper immobilisiert wurden, verwendet. Hier zeigte sich, dass eine selektive Erkennung der Haptenstruktur auf der Oberfläche der Partikel durch die Antikörper nur gegeben war, wenn die Partikel zusätzlich mit Polyethylenglykolgruppen funktionalisiert wurden. Zum Auslesen des Fluoreszenzsignals wurde ein Durchflusszytometer verwendet. Kompatibilität mit der Durchführung in Mikrotiterplatten wurde erreicht, indem eine Stopp-lösung für den SAFIA, basierend auf Formaldehyd, entwickelt wurde. Nach der Optimierung der Assayparameter können die oben genannten vier Analyten gleichzeitig in einer Probe mindestens bis zu einer Konzentration von 0.3 μg L-1 nachgewiesen werden. Der Assay kann ohne Wasch-schritte ausgeführt werden und ist somit einfacher als konventionelle Immunoassays, wie z. B. ELISA. Der SAFIA wurde hinsichtlich Interferenzen und Selektivität untersucht. Dabei zeigte sich, dass Matrixbestandteile, die in wässrigen Umweltproben vorkommen, keinen bzw. nur einen ge-ringen Einfluss auf den SAFIA hatten. Im simulierten Umweltscreening eines Flusses und mithilfe der Analyse von Abwasserproben wurde SAFIA validiert; hier zeigte SAFIA eine mit ELISA vergleich-bare Genauigkeit, bei gleichzeitiger Senkung der Analysenzeit und -kosten. Die gleichzeitige Detektion mehrerer anthropogener Marker erlaubte zudem Rückschlüsse auf die Art von Verschmutzungsquellen, im Gegensatz zu ELISA, mit dem nur ein Analyt bestimmt werden kann. Da hochaffine Antikörper für Immunoassays essenziell sind, wurde ein SAFIA zum Screening antikörperproduzierenden Zellen (Hybridomzellen) entwickelt und eingesetzt. Durch die Implementierung eines Sandwichimmunoassays zur IgG Bestimmung und durch Verwendung von homo- und heterologen Haptenstrukturen konnten aus einem Pool von Hybridomzellen diejenigen ausgewählt werden, deren sekretierter Antikörper die geringsten Nachweisgrenzen im Immunoassay erlauben. Damit konnte das Anwendungsspektrum des SAFIA maßgeblich vergrößert werden. Er vereinfacht als biotechnologisches Werkzeug stark sowohl die Produktion von monoklonalen Antikörpern als auch die Analyse von Umweltproben.
A bead suspension array for measuring emerging pollutants and anthropogenic markers in wastewater
(2016)
Background: The assessment of water quality demands for high-throughput and multi-target compatible analytical methods. On the one hand, the influence of sewage on natural surface waters must be routinely monitored - according to the European Water Framework Directive. On the other hand, estimation of removal efficiencies of pollutants, such as drug residues, is in the focus of industrial and public wastewater treatment. Immunoassays, such as ELISA, are often applied in this area owing to their cost-efficiency and high-throughput capability. However, it is only possible to measure a single analyte in one measurement. In contrast, array technology is capable for measuring multiple substances in parallel. Here we present a four-plex bead-based flow cytometric assay for measuring three drugs (carbamazepine, an anti-epileptic drug, diclofenac, an antiphlogistic and caffeine, a psychoactive substance) and the bile acid isolithocholic acid, which is proposed to be used as a fecal marker. The drugs can be detected from 1 to 4 µg/L and the bile acid can be detected up to 72 µg/L in wastewater, requiring a highly sensitive detection method.
Methods: We use core-shell particles as the spherical platform, consisting of a polystyrene core and a silica shell. Such beads can easily be encoded with an organic fluorophore in the core and functionalized with amino groups on the silica shell surface for creating binding sites for antibodies: Therefore, the marker substances are bound to the amino groups via NHS chemistry. The hybrid particles were synthesized in house. Polystyrene was chosen as core material because of its low density and high refractive index, both important requirements for the use in suspension arrays. Easy surface modifications using silane chemistry are accessible on the silica shell. For the determination of the pollutants, the beads are incubated with a mixture of the analyte-specific antibodies. The antibodies undergo a competitive reaction to bind the immobilized molecules on the surface of the beads or the free analyte in the solution, respectively. Bound antibodies can then be visualized via fluorophore-labelled secondary antibodies. For read-out a flow cytometer is used to virtually separate the different dye encoded beads and to measure the resulting Signal intensity of the immunoassay. A four-parametric function was used as calibration curve.
Results: In order to obtain highly selective binding of the antibodies, we investigated different types of silica shell surface modifications to overcome unspecific binding, finding that a PEG-modified surface is suitable to support our immunoassay format. Multiplexed small molecule detection can therefore be realized in a simple mix and read procedure without washing steps.
Conclusion: We presented a multiplexing suspension array for the detection of four marker substances in wastewater samples, based on an indirect immunoassay format with polystyrene core-silica shell microbeads. The resulting multiplexing assay is appropriate to detect the marker substances in the low µg/L range. Therefore, wastewater samples can be measured without further preconcentration.
A bead suspension array for measuring emerging pollutants and anthropogenic markers in wastewater.
(2016)
The assessment of water quality demands for high-throughput and multi-target compatible analytical methods. On the one hand, the influence of sewage on natural surface waters must be routinely monitored - according to the European Water Framework Directive. On the other hand, estimation of removal efficiencies of pollutants, such as drug residues, is in the focus of industrial and public wastewater treatment. Immunoassays, such as ELISA, are often applied in this area owing to their cost-efficiency and high-throughput capability. However, it is only possible to measure a single analyte in one measurement.
In contrast, array technology is capable for measuring multiple substances in parallel. Here we present a four-plex bead-based flow cytometric assay for measuring three drugs (carbamazepine, an anti-epileptic drug, diclofenac, an antiphlogistic and caffeine, a psychoactive substance) and the bile acid isolithocholic acid, which is proposed to be used as a fecal marker.
In this suspension array core-shell particles, consisting of a polystyrene core and a silica shell are used. They can be easily encoded with a fluorophore which is introduced to the core and functionalized with amino groups on the surface for creating binding sites for antibodies: Therefore, the marker substances are bound to the amino groups via NHS chemistry.
For the determination of the pollutants, the beads are incubated with a mixture of the analyte-specific antibodies. The antibodies undergo a competitive reaction to bind the immobilised molecules on the surface of the beads or the free analyte in the solution, respectively. Bound antibodies can then be visualized via fluorophore-labelled secondary antibodies. For read-out a flow cytometer is used to virtually separate the different encoded beads and to measure the resulting signal intensity of the immunoassay. In order to obtain highly selective binding of the antibodies, we investigated different types of surface modifications to overcome unspecific binding, finding that a PEG-based surface is suitable to support our immunoassay format. The resulting multiplexing assay is appropriate to detect the marker substances in the low µg/L range.
The calibration of fluorescence signals in assays as well as in biological systems is a key requirement. Especially for quantitative studies of living cells, e.g. expression of biomolecules the generation of concentration-proportional analytical statements obtained by the fluorescence intensity plays a significant role. This also applies for cell assays like immunofluorescence assays. Also, the determination of local concentrations of target proteins within cells or within their environment is a major challenge in modern biology.
Proper calibration of the fluorescence imaging systems is the prerequisite to ensure that test results from different instruments and different test environments are comparable. The existing calibration solutions for fluorescence imaging systems, however, mostly depend on simple instrument calibration without reference to absolute physical standards or with insufficient stability for multiple measurements. In order to obtain the necessary quantitative information, it is required to calibrate both instruments and the corresponding assays, ideally with one calibrating system.
We present several new calibration tools for the most commonly used platforms for cytometry, i.e. fluorescence microscope based systems and flow cytometry based systems. They are comprised of ultra-stable fluorophores that are encapsulated in bio- and cell-compatible polymer matrices. Each tool is tailored to the specific requirements of the different read-out platforms. Both re-usable single-color calibration slides for fluorescence microscopes as well as new multi-color calibration beads are presented.
The traceability of the calibration tools to international standards and the wide calibration range of the fluorescence intensity are illustrated. They are thus suitable for calibration of the signal over concentration and quantum yield to that of the targets.
Due to the demand of monitoring the water quality regarding emerging pollutants, such as drug residues, selective, high-throughput and multi-target analytical methods must be established. On the one hand, the influence of sewage on natural surface waters must be routinely monitored. On the other hand, estimation of removal efficiencies of pollutants, such as drug residues, is in the focus of industrial and public wastewater treatment. Immunoassays, such as ELISA, offer the possibility to be highly sensitive and selective due to the high target affine and specific recognition of antibodies to target molecules. Batch-wise processing in microtiter plates allow the necessary high-throughput, but only a single analyte can be determined within one measurement.
To overcome these disadvantages, we developed a four-plex micro-bead based flow cytometric assay, which is adaptable for the microtiter plate format. The modular and self-prepared bead support consists of polystyrene-core-silica-shell particles. While the polystyrene core is used for encoding, by introducing different amounts of fluorescent dyes, the silica-shell creates a solid-support for the immunoassay: The target analytes, three drugs, carbamazepine, diclofenac and caffeine and the f ecal marker isolithocholic acid are covalently coupled to amino-groups on the surface via NHS-chemistry. A competitive immunoassay is subsequently conducted in a simple mix-and-read procedure. Finally, we could use SAFIA to assess the influent of treated and untreated waste water on the Douro river estuary in Portugal. The results of the analysis are comparable to ELISA. However, measurements could be carried out in 25% the time of analysis.
Monitoring water quality regarding emerging pollutants, such as drug residues, demands for selective, high-throughput and multi-target analytical methods. On the one hand, the influence of sewage on natural surface waters must be routinely monitored. On the other hand, estimation of removal efficiencies of pollutants, such as drug residues, is in the focus of industrial and public wastewater treatment. Immunoassays, such as ELISA, offer the possibility to be highly sensitive and selective due to the high target affinity and specificity of target recognition by antibodies. Batch-wise processing in microtiter plates allows for the necessary high-throughput, but only a single analyte can be determined within one measurement.
To overcome these disadvantages, we developed a four-plex Suspension Array Fluorescence Immunoassay (SAFIA), which is adaptable for the microtiter plate format. The modular and self-prepared bead support consists of polystyrene-core silica-shell microparticles. While the polystyrene core is used for encoding, by introducing different amounts of fluorescent dyes, the silica shell creates a solid-support for the immunoassay: the target analytes, three drugs, carbamazepine, diclofenac and caffeine, and the fecal marker isolithocholic acid are covalently coupled to amino groups on the surface via NHS chemistry. Specific recognition of these haptens is accomplished by further introduction of PEG moieties, suppressing non-specific binding. A competitive immunoassay is subsequently conducted in a simple mix-and-read procedure, eliminating the demand for laborious washing steps and decreasing time-to-result. An automated flow cytometer is used for simultaneous decoding and quantification.
After optimization, the SAFIA showed limits of detection for all analytes in the low µg L 1 range, meeting the sensitivity criteria for wastewater analysis. Then, applicability of the SAFIA was studied on real wastewater samples from three different wastewater treatment plants in Berlin. The results were in good comparability to LC-MS/MS indicating high matrix stability. Moreover, the accuracy of the assay exceeded that of the respective ELISA. Finally, we used SAFIA to assess the influent of treated and untreated wastewater on the Douro river estuary in Portugal. The obtained results of the analysis were comparable to ELISA. However, the measurements by SAFIA could be carried out in one quarter the time of analysis required for ELISA.
Acknowledgements: The authors acknowledge financial support from Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst and from Fundação das Universidades Portuguesas under the protocol CRUP-DAAD (Ações Integradas Luso-Alemãs nºE-20/16, DAAD Zuwendungsvertrag 57212899).
The demands for the assessment of water quality are increasing steadily, making it necessary to routinely monitor multiple contaminants in water samples. For this application a hapten microarray was developed. In order to reach the required low detection limits a design of experiments (DoE) approach was used to optimize the assay performance. Here we show that a Box-Behnken design plan is an adequate choice for the straightforward exploration of hapten microarray assay parameters. For both read-out systems studied (fluorophore-labelled detection antibodies or enzymatic signal development followed by reflectometric scan, respectively), it was possible to significantly extend the measurement ranges. Furthermore, it could be shown that multivariate data analysis, here partial least squares regression (PLS), can improve the prediction accuracy of 'unknown' samples when used as calibration model, compared to classical, univariate data evaluation methods.
Pharmaceuticals, certain food ingredients, and mammalian endogenous metabolic products in wastewater are mostly of human origin. They are anthropogenic markers.
Proper knowledge of their levels in wastewater helps to track sources of pollutants in natural waters and allows for calculation of removal efficiencies in wastewater Treatment plants. Here, we describe the development and application of an indirect competitive, multiplexing suspension Array fluorescence immunoassay (SAFIA) for the detection of carbamazepine (CBZ), diclofenac (DCF), caffeine (CAF), and isolithocholic acid (ILA) in wastewater, covering those classes of anthropogenic markers. The assay consists of haptens covalently conjugated to fluorescence-encoded polystyrene core/silica shell microparticles to create a site for competitive binding of the antibodies (Abs). Bound Abs are then stained with fluorophore-labeled Abs. Encoding and signaling fluorescence of the particles are determined by an automated flow cytometer.
For compatibility of the immunoassay with the 96-well microtiter plate format, a stop reagent, containing formaldehyde, is used. This enables a wash-free procedure while decreasing time-to-result. Detection limits of 140 ± 40 ng/L for CBZ, 180 ± 110 ng/L for CAF, 4 ± 3 ng/L for DCF, and 310 ± 70 ng/L for ILA are achieved, which meet the sensitivity criteria of wastewater analysis. We demonstrate the applicability of SAFIA to real wastewater samples from three different wastewater Treatment plants, finding the results in good agreement with LC-MS/MS. Moreover, the accuracy in general exceeded that from classical ELISAs. We therefore propose SAFIA as a quick and reliable approach for wastewater analysis meeting the requirements for process analytical technology.
The development of an automated miniaturized analytical system that allows for the rapid monitoring of carbamazepine (CBZ) levels in serum and wastewater is proposed. Molecular recognition of CBZ was achieved through its selective interaction with microbeads carrying anti-CBZ antibodies. The proposed method combines the advantages of the micro-bead injection spectroscopy and of the flow-based platform lab-on-valve for implementation of automatic immunosorbent renewal, rendering a new recognition surface for each sample. The sequential (or simultaneous) perfusion of CBZ and the horseradish peroxidase-labelled CBZ through the microbeads is followed by real-time on-column Monitoring of substrate (3,30,5,50-tetramethylbenzidine) oxidation by colorimetry. The evaluation of the initial oxidation rate and also the absorbance value at a fixed time point provided a linear response versus the logarithm of the CBZ concentration. Under the selected assay conditions, a single analysis was completed after only 11 min, with a quantification range between 1.0 and 50 µg L⁻¹. Detection of CBZ levels in undiluted wastewater samples was feasible after a simple filtration step while good recoveries were attained for spiked certified human serum, analyzed without sample clean-up.
Immunochemical techniques are the workhorse for sample enrichment and detection of a large variety of analytes. In contrast to classical microtiter plate-based assays, microparticles are a next generation solid support, as they promote automation of immunoassays using flow-based techniques. Antibody immobilization is a crucial step, as these reagentsmare expensive, and inefficient coupling can result in low sensitivities. This paper proposes a general procedure for efficient immobilization of antibodies onto TentaGel particles, via Nhydroxysuccinimide chemistry. The goal was the preparation of solid supports with optimum immunorecognition, while increasing the sustainability of the process. The influence of buffer composition, activation and coupling time, as well as the amount of antibody on the immobilization efficiency was investigated, resorting to fluorophore-labeled proteins and fluorescence imaging. Buffer pH and activation time are the most important parameters for efficient coupling. It is demonstrated, that the hydrolysis of N-hydroxysuccinimide esters occurs at similar rates as in solution, limiting the utilizable time for coupling. Finally, applicability of the generated material for automated affinity extraction is demonstrated on the mesofluidic platform lab-on-valve.
This short course offers an introduction in immunomicroarrays and its application in environmental, food and clinical analysis. Basic principles of microarray fabrication, including spotting techniques and immobilization chemistry are presented, as well as different immunoassay formats and data treatment strategies. Furthermore, principles of bead-based suspension arrays are introduced, including principles of ligand and receptor immobilization, encoding and read-out strategies.
The lab-on-valve (LOV) is a mesofluidic platform that has been recently exploited for
the automation and miniaturization of bioanalytical assays, resorting namely to
molecular recognition schemes based on immunosensing. Due to its high versatility
for reagent accommodation, it is possible to establish immunoassays under several
formats (eg. direct competitive ELISA, sandwich ELISA or even label-free immunoaffinity
chromatography). For instance, the LOV has been used as a manifold for
UV-vis micro-Bead Injection Spectroscopy (μ-BIS), a technique that involves the
quantification of the target analyte by direct measurement on the surface of a solid
phase capable of retaining the target analyte by molecular recognition.
The μ-BIS-LOV strategy affords several analytical advantages, namely short time-toresult
intervals (3 to 15 min), low sample volume (1-20 μL), automated solution handling
and washing steps, downscaling of reagents’ consumption, low-cost analysis
and little generation of waste. Additionally, the solid support is renewed before each
determination, minimizing surface fouling, cross-contamination issues and functional
group deactivation. No sample clean-up steps are required because interferences
are separated from the target analyte upon quantification mediated by a molecular
recognition element attached to the micro-bead column. The portability of the LOV
device makes it compatible with point-of-care testing.
To our knowledge, this technique has been mainly employed for the evaluation and
optimization of bioaffinity processes, but its potential for clinical and environmental
analysis remains underexploited. Hence, in this communication, different immunosensing
strategies using the LOV platform will be addressed, namely the determination
of autoimmune IgG in human serum, and the assessment of drug (carbamazepine)
levels in wastewater samples.
Pollutants of low molecular weight, such as drug residues, are in the focus of water quality assessment: some of them, like carbamazepine are only partially degraded in wastewater treatment plants. Thus, these pollutants can serve as marker substances for elimination efficiencies. Monitoring water quality demands for selective, high-throughput and multi-target analytical methods. Immunoassays, such as ELISA, offer the possibility to be highly sensitive and selective due to the specific recognition by high affinity of target molecules to antibodies (Abs). Batch-wise processing in microtiter plates allows for the necessary high-throughput, however only a single analyte can be determined within one measurement.
To overcome these disadvantages, we developed a four-plex microbead-based flow cytometric assay, which is adaptable for the microtiter plate format. The modular and self-prepared bead support consists of polystyrene-core/silica-shell particles. While, the polystyrene core is used for encoding, by introducing different amounts of fluorescent dyes, the silica shell creates a solid support for the immunoassay: The target analytes, three drugs, carbamazepine, diclofenac and caffeine and the fecal marker isolithocholic acid are coupled covalently to the surface via NHS chemistry to amino groups on the surface.
For determination of the pollutants, a mixture of specific Abs is incubated with the samples, to bind competitively on the “anchor” molecules on the surface of the beads or the analyte in solution. Bound antibodies are then visualized via fluorescent dye-labelled secondary Abs. Flow-cytometry allows for decoding of the beads and signal read-out, without washing the system. In order to decrease non-specific binding, we investigated different types of surface modifications, finding, that a PEG-based surface is suitable to support our immunoassay format. For maximum sensitivity, a design-of-experiment approach was chosen for optimization of the assay parameters. The resulting immunoassay is appropriate to quantify the pollutants in the low μg/L-range.
The assessment of water quality demands for multi-target compatible analytical methods. On the one hand, the influence of sewage on natural surface waters must be routinely monitored. On the other hand, estimation of removal efficiencies of pollutants, such as drug residues, is in the focus of industrial and public wastewater treatment. Immunoassays, such as ELISA, are often applied in this area, however, it is only possible to measure a single analyte in one measurement.
In contrast, array technology is capable for measuring multiple substances in parallel. Here we present a four-plex bead-based flow cytometric assay for measuring three drugs (carbamazepine, an antiepileptic drug, diclofenac, an antiphlogistic and caffeine, a psychoactive substance) and the bile acid isolithocholic acid, which is proposed to be used as a fecal marker.
In this suspension array core-shell particles, consisting of a polystyrene core and a silica shell, are used. They can be easily encoded with a fluorophore which is introduced to the core while the shell is functionalized with amino groups to which the analytes or their derivates are bound via NHS chemistry. They are the competitor binding sites for the antibodies.
For the determination of the pollutants, the beads are incubated with a mixture of the analyte-specific antibodies. The molecules on the surface of the beads and the free analyte in solution compete for the binding sites of the antibodies. Bead-bound antibodies can then be visualized via dye-labelled secondary antibodies. For read-out a flow cytometer is used to virtually separate the differently encoded beads. In order to obtain highly selective binding of the antibodies, we investigated different types of surface modifications to overcome unspecific binding, finding that a PEG-based surface is suitable to support our immunoassay format. The resulting multiplexing assay is appropriate to detect the marker substances in the low µg/L range.
The conventional hybridoma screening and subcloning process is generally considered to be one of the most critical steps in hapten-specific antibody production. It is time-consuming, monoclonality is not guaranteed, and the number of clones that can be screened is limited. Our approach employs a novel hapten-specific labeling technique of hybridoma cells. This allows for fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) and single-cell deposition and thereby eliminates the above-mentioned problems. A two-step staining approach is used to detect antigen specificity and antibody expression: in order to detect antigen specificity, hybridoma cells are incubated with a hapten−horseradish peroxidase conjugate (hapten−HRP), which is subsequently incubated with a fluorophore-labeled polyclonal anti-peroxidase antibody (anti-HRP−Alexa Fluor 488). To characterize the expression of membrane-bound immunoglobulin G (IgG), a fluorophore-labeled anti-mouse IgG antibody (anti-IgG−Alexa Fluor 647) is used. Hundreds of labeled hybridoma cells producing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) specific for a hapten were rapidly isolated and deposited from a fusion mixture as single-cell clones via FACS. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) measurements of the supernatants of the sorted hybridoma clones revealed that all hapten-specific hybridoma clones secrete antibodies against the target. There are significant improvements using this high-throughput technique for the generation of mAbs including increased yield of antibody-producing hybridoma clones, ensured monoclonality of sorted cells, and reduced development times.
Commercial bead-based assays are commonly built upon polystyrene particles. The polymeric carrier can be encoded with organic dyes and has ideal material properties for cytometric applications such as low density and high refractive index. However, functional groups are conventionally integrated during polymerization and subsequent modification is limited to the reactivity of those groups. Additionally, polystyrene as the core material leads to many hydrophobic areas still being present on the beads’ surfaces even after functionalization, Rendering the particles prone to nonspecific adsorption during an application. The latter calls for several washing steps and the use of additives in (bio)analytical assays. In this contribution, we show how these limitations can be overcome by using monodisperse polystyrene (PS) core/silica (SiO2) shell particles (SiO2@PS). Two different hydrophobic BODIPY (boron−dipyrromethene) dyes were encapsulated inside a poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) -stabilized polystyrene core in different concentrations to create 5-plex arrays in two separate detection channels of a cytometer. A subsequent modification of the silica shell with an equimolar APTES/PEGS (aminopropyltriethoxysilane/polyethylene glycol silane) blend added multifunctional properties to the hybrid core/Shell microparticles in a single step: APTES provides amino groups for the attachment of a caffeine derivative (as a hapten) to create antigen-coupled microspheres; the PEG moiety effectively suppresses nonspecific binding of antibodies, endowing the surface with antifouling properties. The particles were applied in a competitive fluorescence immunoassay in suspension, and a highly selective wash-free assay for the detection of caffeine in beverages was developed as a proof of concept.
Due to the demand of monitoring the water quality regarding emerging pollutants, such as drug residues, selective, high-throughput and multi-target analytical methods must be established. On the one hand, the influence of sewage on natural surface waters must be routinely monitored. On the other hand, estimation of removal efficiencies of pollutants, such as drug residues, is in the focus of industrial and public wastewater treatment. Immunoassays, such as ELISA, offer the possibility to be highly sensitive and selective due to the high target affine and specific recognition of antibodies to target molecules. Batch-wise processing in microtiter plates allow the necessary high-throughput, but only a single analyte can be determined within one measurement.
To overcome these disadvantages, we developed a four-plex micro-bead based flow cytometric assay, which is adaptable for the microtiter plate format. The modular and self-prepared bead support consists of polystyrene-core-silica-shell particles. While the polystyrene core is used for encoding, by introducing different amounts of fluorescent dyes, the silica-shell creates a solid-support for the immunoassay: The target analytes, three drugs, carbamazepine, diclofenac and caffeine and the f ecal marker isolithocholic acid are covalently coupled to amino-groups on the surface via NHS-chemistry. A competitive immunoassay is subsequently conducted in a simple mix-and-read procedure. Finally, we could use SAFIA to assess the influent of treated and untreated waste water on the Douro river estuary in Portugal. The results of the analysis are comparable to ELISA. However, measurements could be carried out in 25% the time of analysis.
Clinical, environmental, and food analysis, require efficient and accurate quantitative analysis. Immunoassays take advantage of highly selective and affine binding of an antibody towards an antigen, being easy-to-use and allowing for high sample throughput. However, common immunoassays, e. g. ELISA are not capable of multiplexed analysis, thus limiting possible applications. On the other hand, multi-analyte methods, e.g. liquid chromatographytandem mass spectrometry requires expensive equipment, trained analysts and the time of analysis usually limits sample throughput. This bottleneck can be overcome combining the suspension array technology, where particles are encoded to allow multiplexed detection, with fluorescence immunoassays to create suspension array fluorescence immunoassays (SAFIA).
Polystyrene core/silica shell microparticles serve as platform for SAFIA. While an encoding dye is introduced in the polystyrene core, the silica shell is used for immobilization: For competitive hapten immunoassays small molecules are immobilized on the surface, serving as a competitive binding site for selective antibodies. For quantification of proteins, antibodies can be immobilized on the surface and the sandwich immunoassay format can be employed. All mentioned immunoassays can be executed wash-free and highly parallelized, allowing up to 500 determinations within three hours. In contrast to ELISA, short incubation times, a wash-free mix-and-read procedure and automated flow-cytometric read-out makes SAFIA applicable for even non-trained personal.
SAFIA showed excellent performance in studies on the origin and fate of drug residues in waste water, which is important to assess clearance rates of wastewater treatment plants. Furthermore, SAFIA can be employed in environmental screenings, detecting pollution of natural river waters by tracking anthropogenic marker substances. It was successfully employed in clinical and food analysis applications, e.g. the quantification of the anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac in breast milk or the quantification of caffeine in beverages. Due to multiplexing capacities, SAFIA can significantly improve biotechnological processes, as in the screening of hybridoma cells for selective and efficient antibody production. For small molecule analytes, limits of detection down to 4 ng/L and for proteins below 25 ng/mL (IgG) were observed, which makes SAFIA applicable to all addressed analytical issues. Moreover, in the analysis of real-world samples, SAFIA shows higher accuracy in contrast to ELISA, indicating higher matrix stability and thus higher robustness in analysis.
Spheriplex multiplexed immunoassays: A practical tool for environmental, food and bioanalysis
(2019)
Clinical, environmental, and food analysis, require efficient and accurate quantitative analysis. Immunoassays take advantage of highly selective and affine binding of an antibody towards an antigen, being easy-to-use and allowing for high sample throughput. However, common immunoassays, e. g. ELISA are not capable of multiplexed analysis, thus limiting possible applications. On the other hand, multi-analyte methods, e.g. liquid chromatographytandem mass spectrometry requires expensive equipment, trained analysts and the time of analysis usually limits sample throughput. This bottleneck can be overcome combining the suspension array technology, where particles are encoded to allow multiplexed detection, with fluorescence immunoassays to create suspension array fluorescence immunoassays (SAFIA).
Polystyrene core/silica shell microparticles serve as platform for SAFIA. While an encoding dye is introduced in the polystyrene core, the silica shell is used for immobilization: For competitive hapten immunoassays small molecules are immobilized on the surface, serving as a competitive binding site for selective antibodies. For quantification of proteins, antibodies can be immobilized on the surface and the sandwich immunoassay format can be employed. All mentioned immunoassays can be executed wash-free and highly parallelized, allowing up to 500 determinations within three hours. In contrast to ELISA, short incubation times, a wash-free mix-and-read procedure and automated flow-cytometric read-out makes SAFIA applicable for even non-trained personal.
SAFIA showed excellent performance in studies on the origin and fate of drug residues in waste water, which is important to assess clearance rates of wastewater treatment plants. Furthermore, SAFIA can be employed in environmental screenings, detecting pollution of natural river waters by tracking anthropogenic marker substances. It was successfully employed in clinical and food analysis applications, e.g. the quantification of the anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac in breast milk or the quantification of caffeine in beverages. Due to multiplexing capacities, SAFIA can significantly improve biotechnological processes, as in the screening of hybridoma cells for selective and efficient antibody production. For small molecule analytes, limits of detection down to 4 ng/L and for proteins below 25 ng/mL (IgG) were observed, which makes SAFIA applicable to all addressed analytical issues. Moreover, in the analysis of real-world samples, SAFIA shows higher accuracy in contrast to ELISA, indicating higher matrix stability and thus higher robustness in analysis.
Supernatants from a fermentation process of Pichia pastoris were investigated by Raman spectroscopy. Using partial least squares regression, the principal substrates glycerol and methanol could be predicted, however not the expressed protein. To gain further insight, a priori prepared calibration samples were studied by vibrational-, UV/Vis-, and fluorescence spectroscopy. For the quantification of glycerol and methanol, Raman spectroscopy was identified as the most sensitive technique, and superior to near-infrared spectroscopy, but not for protein contents below 1 g L–1. Both UV/Vis absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy are well suited for the quantification of protein, however, best results were obtained with UV/Vis absorption.
Zur Onlineüberwachung von Fermentationsprozessen werden zunehmend schwingungsspektroskopische (Raman-, Mittel- und Nahinfrarotspektroskopie (NIRS) und UV-/VIS- Methoden(Absorptions- und Fluoreszenzspektroskopie) in Kombination mit multivariater Auswertung eingesetzt. Anliegen dieser Arbeit war es, zu testen, welche Verfahren für die spektroskopische On- und Offlineüberwachung des Fermentationsprozesses zur biotechnologischen Herstellung einer Malariavaccine grundlegend geeignet sind und welche Messbereiche und Genauigkeiten der Vorhersage im Idealfall bei der Abwesenheit von Hefezellen erzielt werden können.