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Point-of-Care Detection of Interleukin-6 using Quantum Dot-based Immunochromatographic Test Strips

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Abstract

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is essential for regulating the immune system and initiating acute inflammatory responses. While normal levels of IL-6 are very low in healthy individuals, current detection methods rely primarily on sophisticated instrumentation in central laboratories. Here, we developed a novel fluorescent immunochromatographic test strip method based on CdSe@ZnS quantum dots for point-of-care testing of IL-6. The test strip takes only 20 min to test the sample. Four analysis methods were developed: a self-developed smartphone application, smartphone photographs analyzed with ImageJ, a self-constructed portable immunoanalyzer, and a commercial immunoanalyzer. The performance of these four methods was evaluated and compared. The commercial immunoanalyzer achieved the best limit of detection (LOD) at 2.65 pg/mL, followed by the portable immunoanalyzer (5.74 pg/mL) and ImageJ (8.25 pg/mL). These LODs were sensitive enough to quantify IL-6 in healthy human serum around the clinically relevant cut-off of 10 pg/mL. Despite a higher LOD of 50 pg/mL, customized smartphone application enabled rapid IL-6 quantification and screening, which is useful in resource-scarce areas and well suited for measuring IL-6 levels. The developed method provides a simple, rapid, and portable tool for diagnosing and monitoring IL-6-related diseases.

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Funding

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (22064008), the Key Research and Development Program of Guilin (2020010323), and the Scientific Research and Technology Development Plan of Guilin (20210217-1).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Guangxi Key Laboratory of Electrochemical and Magneto-chemical Functional Materials, College of Chemistry and Bioengineering, Guilin University of Technology, 541004, Guilin, China

    T. Zhong & H. Pan

  2. College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guilin University of Technology, 541004, Guilin, China

    J. Li & H. Pan

  3. College of Mechanical and Control Engineering, Guilin University of Technology, 541004, Guilin, China

    S. Zhang

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  1. T. Zhong
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Correspondence to H. Pan.

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Zhong, T., Li, J., Zhang, S. et al. Point-of-Care Detection of Interleukin-6 using Quantum Dot-based Immunochromatographic Test Strips. Appl Biochem Microbiol 59, 946–958 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0003683823060224

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