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A strategy to enhance SERS detection sensitivity through the use of SiO2 beads in a 1536-well plate

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Abstract

The development of rapid and accurate assays is crucial to prevent the rapid spread of highly contagious respiratory infections such as coronavirus (COVID-19). Here, we developed a surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)–enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method that allows for the screening of multiple patient samples with high sensitivity on a 1536-well plate. As the well number on the ELISA well plate increases from 96 to 1536, the throughput of the assay increases but the sensitivity decreases due to the low number of biomarkers and the increase in non-specific binding species. To address this problem, silica (SiO2) beads were used to increase the surface-to-volume ratio and the loading density of biomarkers, thereby enhancing sensitivity. Using a three-dimensional gold nanoparticle (AuNP)@SiO2 SERS assay platform on a 1536-well plate, an immunoassay for the nucleocapsid protein biomarker of SARS-CoV-2 was performed and the limit of detection (LoD) decreased from 273 to 7.83 PFU/mL compared to using a two-dimensional assay platform with AuNPs. The proposed AuNPs@SiO2 SERS immunoassay (SERS-IA) platform is expected to dramatically decrease the false-negative diagnostic rate of the currently used lateral flow assay (LFA) or ELISA by enabling the positive diagnosis of patients with low virus concentrations.

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Funding

This research was supported by the Chung-Ang University Young Scientist Scholarship (CAYSS) in 2021. The National Research Foundation of Korea also supported this work (grant numbers 2019R1A2C3004375 and 2020R1A5A1018052).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, 06974, South Korea

    Jiadong Chen, Qian Yu, Mengdan Lu & Jaebum Choo

  2. R&D Center, Speclipse Inc., Seongnam, 13461, South Korea

    Chang Su Jeon & Sung Hyun Pyun

Authors
  1. Jiadong Chen
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  2. Qian Yu
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  3. Mengdan Lu
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  4. Chang Su Jeon
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  5. Sung Hyun Pyun
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  6. Jaebum Choo
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Contributions

Jiadong Chen: conceptualization, validation, formal analysis, investigation. Qian Yu: methodology, formal analysis. Mengdan Lu: validation, formal analysis, investigation. Chang Su Jeon: conceptualization, methodology, visualization. Sung Hyun Pyun: funding acquisition, methodology. Jaebum Choo: funding acquisition; conceptualization; methodology; writing—review and editing.

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Correspondence to Sung Hyun Pyun or Jaebum Choo.

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Chen, J., Yu, Q., Lu, M. et al. A strategy to enhance SERS detection sensitivity through the use of SiO2 beads in a 1536-well plate. Anal Bioanal Chem 415, 5939–5948 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-023-04896-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-023-04896-0

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