Development of localized surface plasmon resonance biosensor for COVID-19 antibodies in blood

本研究旨在利用一台台式局域表面等离子体共振（LSPR）仪器，开发一种同时检测血液中相应IgG和IgM抗体的方法。与病毒蛋白或RNA的检测相比，血液抗体的检测具有许多优点，例如更长的检测窗口和了解免疫反应。我们将使用来自COVID-19病毒的刺突蛋白并将其固定在金纳米颗粒上，以产生分别包含IgG，IgM和对照的三个独立点的传感器，并使用微流体系统来传递样本。我们将仔细确定IgG和IgM的检测限，并在必要时探索信号放大方法。这种方法可以被制成一种高度准确的高通量检测方法，行业合作伙伴Nicoya Lifesciences将使这种检测方法商业化。该项目将增加加拿大在检测COVID-19感染方面的专业知识。

This project aims to use a benchtop localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) instrument to develop an assay for simultaneous detection of the corresponding IgG and IgM antibodies from blood. Compared to the detection of viral protein or RNA, the detection of blood antibodies has a number of advantages such as longer detection window and understanding the immune response. We will use the spike protein from the COVID-19 virus and immobilize it on gold nanoparticles to produce sensors containing three separate spots for IgG, IgM and control, respectively, and use a microfluidic system to deliver the samples. We will carefully determine the detection limit of both IgG and IgM and will explore signal amplification methods if necessary. This method can be made into a highly accurate high throughput assay, and the industry partner, Nicoya Lifesciences, will commercialize this assay. This project will increase Canada's expertise in detecting COVID-19 infection.