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Modification of a nitrocellulose membrane with cellulose nanofibers for enhanced sensitivity of lateral flow assays: application to the determination of Staphylococcus aureus

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Abstract

Lateral flow assays, as a low-cost, simple, portable and disposable product of vitro diagnostic, are being widely used for point-of-care testing. However, the poor sensitivity of LFAs is the main challenge for commercialization. In order to enhance the sensitivity of LFAs, cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) have been integrated into LFAs to enhance the sensitivity of protein LFAs. A simple method is also presented to modify the properties of paper substrate by incorporating CNFs into a nitrocellulose membrane to enhance the sensitivity of nucleic acid LFAs. This method changes the pore size, porosity, surface groups and surface area of paper substrate and then increases the adsorption ability of biomolecules on paper substrate. The results indicate that the sensitivity of nucleic acid LFAs in Staphylococcus aureus testing achieves a 20-fold enhancement. Hence, we anticipate that this simple method has the potential for other paper-based devices to improve the performance.

A simple method is used to modify the properties of paper substrate by incorporating cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) into nitrocellulose (NC) membrane to enhance the sensitivity of nucleic acid LFAs.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21808132), the Natural Science Basic Research Plan of Shaanxi Province (2019JQ-517), the Project of Shaanxi Provincial Education department (18JK0096), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2018 M633525), the Opening Project of National Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center of Light Chemical Engineering (2018QGSJ02-10).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Bioresources Chemical and Materials Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science & Technology, Xi’an, 710021, People’s Republic of China

    Rui Hua Tang & Li Na Liu

  2. National Demonstration Center for Experimental Light Chemistry Engineering Education, Shaanxi University of Science & Technology, Xi’an, 710021, People’s Republic of China

    Rui Hua Tang & Li Na Liu

  3. The Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710049, People’s Republic of China

    Rui Hua Tang & Zedong Li

  4. Bioinspired Engineering and Biomechanics Center (BEBC), Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710049, People’s Republic of China

    Rui Hua Tang, Li Na Liu & Zedong Li

  5. Shaanxi Province Key Laboratory of Papermaking Technology and Specialty Paper Development, Shaanxi University of Science & Technology, Xi’an, 710021, People’s Republic of China

    Su Feng Zhang

  6. Key Laboratory of Paper based Functional Materials of China National Light Industry, Shaanxi University of Science & Technology, Xi’an, 710021, People’s Republic of China

    Su Feng Zhang

  7. Key Laboratory of Shaanxi Province for Craniofacial Precision Medicine Research, College of Stomatology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710049, People’s Republic of China

    Ang Li

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  1. Rui Hua Tang
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Correspondence to Zedong Li.

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Tang, R.H., Liu, L.N., Zhang, S.F. et al. Modification of a nitrocellulose membrane with cellulose nanofibers for enhanced sensitivity of lateral flow assays: application to the determination of Staphylococcus aureus. Microchim Acta 186, 831 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-019-3970-z

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