SERS-based lateral flow assay for quantitative detection of C-reactive protein as an early bio-indicator of a radiation-induced inflammatory response in nonhuman primates

• Published in: Analyst (London) Vol. 143; no. 9; p. 2115
• Main Authors: Rong, Zhen, Xiao, Rui, Xing, Shuang, Xiong, Guolin, Yu, Zuyin, Wang, Limei, Jia, Xiaofei, Wang, Keli, Cong, Yuwen, Wang, Shengqi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 30-04-2018
• Subjects: Animals; Biological Assay; C-Reactive Protein - analysis; Female; Gold; Humans; Inflammation - diagnosis; Macaca mulatta; Male; Metal Nanoparticles; Primates; Radiation Injuries - diagnosis; Spectrum Analysis, Raman
• ISSN: 1364-5528
• DOI: 10.1039/c8an00160j

In accidental irradiation situations, rapid in-field evaluation of acute radiation syndrome is critical for effective triage and timely medical treatment of irradiated individuals. A surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-based lateral flow assay was developed for the quantitative detection of C-reactive protein (CRP) as an early bio-indicator of a radiation-induced inflammatory response in nonhuman primates. Raman reporter-embedded gold-core silver-shell nanoparticles with built-in hot spots were synthesized and conjugated with a CRP detection antibody to serve as SERS tags in the lateral flow assay. The proposed SERS-based lateral flow assay can rapidly detect CRP with a limit of detection of 0.01 ng mL-1 and quantitative analysis ability. Furthermore, the assay was applied to evaluate the CRP levels in plasma samples of irradiated nonhuman primates at 0 to 80 h after exposure to sublethal (4 Gy) and lethal (8 Gy) doses of total body irradiation (n = 3 animals per group). The plasma CRP levels increase rapidly within few hours after irradiation. The CRP level peaks are observed at 12 or 24 h after irradiation, with a concentration of 201.30, 386.06 and 475.18 μg mL-1 for the 4 Gy irradiated animals and 197.14, 69.52 and 358.03 μg mL-1 for the 8 Gy irradiated animals. The results indicate the potential application of the proposed SERS-based lateral flow assay to serve as a rapid and accurate point-of-care biodosimetry assay for the quantitative detection of bio-indicators to triage irradiated individuals in the field of a radiation accident.