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Technological Innovations for High-Throughput Approaches to In Vitro Allergy Diagnosis

Current Allergy and Asthma Reports volume 15, Article number: 36 (2015) Cite this article

An Erratum to this article was published on 30 July 2015

Abstract

Allergy diagnostics is being transformed by the advent of in vitro IgE testing using purified allergen molecules, combined with multiplex technology and biosensors, to deliver discriminating, sensitive, and high-throughput molecular diagnostics at the point of care. Essential elements of IgE molecular diagnostics are purified natural or recombinant allergens with defined purity and IgE reactivity, planar or bead-based multiplex systems to enable IgE to multiple allergens to be measured simultaneously, and, most recently, nanotechnology-based biosensors that facilitate rapid reaction rates and delivery of test results via mobile devices. Molecular diagnostics relies on measurement of IgE to purified allergens, the “active ingredients” of allergenic extracts. Typically, this involves measuring IgE to multiple allergens which is facilitated by multiplex technology and biosensors. The technology differentiates between clinically significant cross-reactive allergens (which could not be deduced by conventional IgE assays using allergenic extracts) and provides better diagnostic outcomes. Purified allergens are manufactured under good laboratory practice and validated using protein chemistry, mass spectrometry, and IgE antibody binding. Recently, multiple allergens (from dog) were expressed as a single molecule with high diagnostic efficacy. Challenges faced by molecular allergy diagnostic companies include generation of large panels of purified allergens with known diagnostic efficacy, access to flexible and robust array or sensor technology, and, importantly, access to well-defined serum panels form allergic patients for product development and validation. Innovations in IgE molecular diagnostics are rapidly being brought to market and will strengthen allergy testing at the point of care.

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Acknowledgments

This work is supported in part by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R01AI077653. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. We are grateful to Drs. Nicolas Durand and Iwan Merki (Abionic) for the informative discussions about nanotechnology for IgE detection and for providing the images used in Fig. 2.

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Conflict of Interest

Martin D. Chapman declares that he is a founder and co-owner of Indoor Biotechnologies and was recently appointed to the Board of Directors of Abionic SA, Lausanne, Switzerland. Sabina Wuenschmann, Eva King, and Anna Pomés declare that they are employees of Indoor Biotechnologies.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Affiliations

  1. Indoor Biotechnologies Inc, 1216 Harris Street, Charlottesville, VA, 22903, USA

    Martin D. Chapman, Sabina Wuenschmann, Eva King & Anna Pomés

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  1. Martin D. Chapman
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  2. Sabina Wuenschmann
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  3. Eva King
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  4. Anna Pomés
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Correspondence to Martin D. Chapman.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Immunologic/Diagnostic Tests in Allergy

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Chapman, M.D., Wuenschmann, S., King, E. et al. Technological Innovations for High-Throughput Approaches to In Vitro Allergy Diagnosis. Curr Allergy Asthma Rep 15, 36 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11882-015-0539-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11882-015-0539-8

Keywords

  • Allergens
  • Allergy diagnostics
  • IgE testing
  • Molecular diagnostics
  • Component-resolved diagnostics