A fluorescent plasmonic biochip assay for multiplex screening of diagnostic serum antibody targets in human Lyme disease

PLoS One. 2020 Feb 10;15(2):e0228772. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0228772. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

Lyme disease (LD) diagnosis using the current two-tier algorithm is constrained by low sensitivity for early-stage infection and ambiguity in determining treatment response. We recently developed a protein microarray biochip that measures diagnostic serum antibody targets using grating-coupled fluorescent plasmonics (GC-FP) technology. This strategy requires microliters of blood serum to enable multiplexed biomarker screening on a compact surface and generates quantitative results that can be further processed for diagnostic scoring. The GC-FP biochip was used to detect serum antibodies in patients with active and convalescent LD, as well as various negative controls. We hypothesized that the quantitative, high-sensitivity attributes of the GC-FP approach permit: 1) screening of antibody targets predictive for LD status, and 2) development a diagnostic algorithm that is more sensitive, specific, and informative than the standard ELISA and Western blot assays. Notably, our findings led to a diagnostic algorithm that may be more sensitive than the current standard for detecting early LD, while maintaining 100% specificity. We further show that analysis of relative antibody levels to predict disease status, such as in acute and convalescent stages of infection, is possible with a highly sensitive and quantitative platform like GC-FP. The results from this study add to the urgent conversation regarding better diagnostic strategies and more effective treatment for patients affected by tick-borne disease.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Antibodies, Bacterial / blood*
  • Fluorescence*
  • Humans
  • Lab-On-A-Chip Devices*
  • Lyme Disease / blood*
  • Lyme Disease / diagnosis*
  • Lyme Disease / immunology
  • Mass Screening / instrumentation*
  • Time Factors

Substances

  • Antibodies, Bacterial

Grants and funding

This work was supported by National Science Foundation IOS1755286 (Y.L. and B.T.), National Science Foundation DBI1757170 (B.T.), Department of Defense TB170111 (Y.L. and B.T.), New York State Department of Health Wadsworth Center Start-Up Grant (Y.L. and B.T.), SUNY Polytechnic Faculty Seed Award (N.C.). Funding agencies did not play a role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Ciencia, Inc. provided support in the form of salaries for authors A.P., E.G., and W.P., but did not have any additional role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The specific roles of these authors are articulated in the ‘author contributions’ section. The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.