Abstract

Immunodiagnostic Point-of-Care Testing (POCT) for Rapid Serological Tests of COVID-19 Exposure and Immunity

Chong Ahn, Professor, University of Cincinnati

A new compact immunodiagnostic point-of-care testing (POCT) analyzer which can rapidly (within 10-15 minutes) and accurately detect anti-SARS-COV-2 IgG and IgM antibodies has been explored and developed, in combination with a neutralization assay which measures neutralizing antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, with the goal of linking serological diagnostics to immune status of infected individuals.

The compact POCT analyzer platform with a new multiplex microchannel-based capillary flow assay (MCFA) lab chip can perform a rapid, real time measurement of anti-SARS-COV-2 IgM and IgG in whole blood for determining COVID-19 exposure and immunity. The POCT platform consists of (a) a multiplex polymer lab-on-a-chip (LOC) that can successfully integrate multiple features of sandwich ELISA and lateral flow tests to implement MCFA using on-chip dried reagents and (b) a portable compact fluorescent analyzer to simultaneously detect multiple targets from the multiplexing immunoassay LOC.  In addition, the use of a monoclonal antibody specific for the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the S-protein would enable the utilization of the MCFA device for a competitive assay to determine the presence of neutralizing antibody in the patient sample, leading to an ideal POCT that not only detects COVID-19 exposure but can also confer immune status.

This serological diagnostics in a compact POCT analyzer platform will provide a new paradigm for rapid and cost-effective diagnosis of rapidly-transmitting diseases like COVID-19.