Affiliations 

  • 1 Tecnologico de Monterrey, School of Engineering and Sciences, Monterrey, NL 64849, Mexico; Writing Lab, TecLabs, Vicerrectoría de Investigación y Transferencia de Tecnología, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Monterrey 64849, NL, Mexico. Electronic address: samira.hosseini@tec.mx
  • 2 University of Malaya, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia; University of Malaya, Centre for Applied Biomechanics, Faculty of Engineering, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
  • 3 Tecnologico de Monterrey, School of Engineering and Sciences, Monterrey, NL 64849, Mexico
  • 4 Centro de Investigación en Materiales Avanzados S. C. (CIMAV-Unidad Monterrey), NL, Mexico
  • 5 University of California, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Irvine, CA 92697, USA; University of California, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
Mater Sci Eng C Mater Biol Appl, 2020 Apr;109:110629.
PMID: 32228934 DOI: 10.1016/j.msec.2020.110629

Abstract

Based on the concept of LEGO toys, a fiber probe analytical platform (FPAP) was developed as a powerful diagnostic tool offering higher sensitivity in detection of infectious agents compared to established methods. Using the form and the function of LEGO toys, this protocol describes a fiber-based, 96-well plate, which suspends a new class of chemically-designed, electrospun fibers within the assay. This clamping strategy allows both sides of the developed fiber mats to interact with biomolecules within the assay thus benefiting from the tailored chemical and physical properties of these fiber-based bioreceptors in attracting the biomolecules to the surface. The fabrication method of FPAP involves one-step electrospinning of the chemically designed fibers, 3D printing of the LEGO-like probing segments, and assembly of the device followed by ELISA procedure. FPAP follows the same principles of operation as that of a conventional enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), therefore, it can be run by lab technicians, expert in ELISA. FPAP was used for early diagnosis of Dengue fever and provided an 8-fold higher sensitivity while the limit of detection (LOD) was recorded to be in femto-gram per milliliter range which is significantly low when compared to other existing techniques or conventional assay. This platform allows different types of paper/fiber bio-receptive platforms to be incorporated within the design that promises simultaneous recognition of multiple infectious agents.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.