Multiplexed rapid antigen tests developed using multicolored nanoparticles and cross-reactive antibody pairs: Implications for pandemic preparedness

Helena de Puig; Irene Bosch; Nol Salcedo; James J Collins; Kimberly Hamad-Schifferli; Lee Gehrke

doi:10.1016/j.nantod.2022.101669

Multiplexed rapid antigen tests developed using multicolored nanoparticles and cross-reactive antibody pairs: Implications for pandemic preparedness

Nano Today. 2022 Dec:47:101669. doi: 10.1016/j.nantod.2022.101669. Epub 2022 Nov 3.

Authors

Helena de Puig^{1

2}, Irene Bosch^{1

3}, Nol Salcedo³, James J Collins^{1

2

4

5}, Kimberly Hamad-Schifferli^{6

7}, Lee Gehrke^{1

8}

Affiliations

¹ Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge MA, United States.
² Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston MA, United States.
³ IDx20, Newton, MA, United States.
⁴ Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge MA, United States.
⁵ Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge MA, United States.
⁶ Department of Engineering, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, United States.
⁷ School for the Environment, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, United States.
⁸ Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.

Abstract

Global public health infrastructure is unprepared for emerging pathogen epidemics, in part because diagnostic tests are not developed in advance. The recent Zika, Ebola, and SARS-CoV-2 virus epidemics are cases in point. We demonstrate here that multicolored gold nanoparticles, when coupled to cross-reactive monoclonal antibody pairs generated from a single immunization regimen, can be used to create multiple diagnostics that specifically detect and distinguish related viruses. The multiplex approach for specific detection centers on immunochromatography with pairs of antibody-conjugated red and blue gold nanoparticles, coupled with clustering algorithms to detect and distinguish related pathogens. Cross-reactive antibodies were used to develop rapid tests for i) Dengue virus serotypes 1-4, ii) Zika virus, iii) Ebola and Marburg viruses, and iv) SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 viruses. Multiplexed rapid antigen tests based on multicolored nanoparticles and cross-reactive antibodies and can be developed prospectively at low cost to improve preparedness for epidemic outbreaks.

Keywords: Antibody; Cross-reactive; Infectious diseases; Lateral flow chromatography; Nanoparticle; Nanosphere; Nanostar; Pandemic preparedness; Rapid antigen diagnostics.

Abstract

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