Evaluation on the use of reactive dye-modified polylysine as the biomarker in immunochromatographic test application.

An improved dye immunochromatographic test (DICT) using polylysine (PL) as conjugate spacer loading dye molecules to enhance chromophor color intensity with the potential of a simultaneous multicolored assay has been developed. To construct this new effective chromophor, a dyeing process coupling a reactive dye, Procion Blue MX-7RX (PB7RX), with PL of different molecular weights was performed. The optimal conjugate condition between PB7RX and PL was studied. It showed that under the optimized dyeing conditions, a PL molecular weight of 189.4 kDa and a molar ratio (mol dye/mol amine group in PL) of 1.5 were obtained. The resulting dyed PL chromophor, used as both a spacer and a color intensifier, was further labeled to a model antibody, anti-human serum albumin (anti-HSA), to build a PB7RX-PL-anti-HSA (PPA) conjugate. The PPA obtained in this way generated the highest color intensity of 19,455 assayed by immunochromatographic test strip under densitometer scanning. A competitive DICT for determination of HSA was carried out. A linear range between 0 and 18.77 µg/ml with a detection limit of 0.49 µg/ml was observed. A test for using dyed PL chromophors as biomarkers was also performed to demonstrate the feasibility of a multianalyte immunoassay.

Development of a disperse dye immunochromatographic test for the detection of antibodies against infectious bursal disease virus.

For investigating the feasibility of using disperse dyes as an immunoassay chromogenic marker, a disperse dye, DADISPERSE NAVY BLUE SP, was selected in analyzing antibody against infectious bursal disease virus (anti-IBDV). With the color intensity revealed in the disperse dye immunochromatographic test (DICT) strip as the objective function, the optimal dyeing conditions were found as follows: dye concentration absorbance (at lambda(max)=587nm)=3, pH 7, 50 degrees C, for 10min. Under these conditions, the resultant dyed-antibody (rabbit anti-chicken) can produce an optimal color intensity reading of 55,054 on the strip. For performing qualitative immunoassay, chicken sera samples taken from different farms were used for the anti-IBDV titre assessment. The results of DICT strips showed very high sensitivity and specificity as compared to that analyzed by FlockChek enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (F-ELISA) kits. For quantitative immunoassay, it was found that the color intensity measured with DICT was linearly correlated to that of F-ELISA titre (r(2)=0.9687). Therefore, DICT was further applied to the detection of chicken anti-IBDV sera under vaccination in the farms. The average titres of the sampling groups exhibited a strong agreement to that of F-ELISA. Accordingly, the DICT method developed in this study, shown to be reliable, cheap and simple in both qualitative and quantitative immunoassays, is particularly suitable for point-of-need testing (PONT) in agricultural applications.

Optimized dyeing conditions of immunoprotein with reactive dye Procion Blue MX-7RX.

For investigating the feasibility of using reactive dyes as an immunoassay marker, a dichlorine triazine dye, Procion Blue MX-7RX, was employed to stain the antibody against human serum albumin (anti-HSA). With the color intensity revealed in the immunochromatographic test strip as the objective variables, the optimal dyeing conditions were found as follows: pH 11.4, temperature 35.7 degrees C, molar ratio 188 (mol dye/mol antibody), and reaction time 45.6 min. The dyed-anti-HSA revealed a maximal color intensity of 8738 without apparent loss of antigen binding affinity.