Molecularly imprinted polymers as effective capturing receptors in a pseudo-ELISA immunoassay for procalcitonin detection in veterinary species

Anal Methods. 2022 Dec 22;15(1):27-35. doi: 10.1039/d2ay01175a.

Abstract

In this study, a new sandwich-type immunoenzymatic assay, based on a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) as an artificial antibody (pseudo-ELISA), was developed for the determination of procalcitonin (PCT) in veterinary species. The quantification of PCT in human medicine represents the state of the art for the diagnosis of sepsis; instead the clinical studies on the relevance of PCT as a sepsis predictor in veterinary patients are few, likely due to the total absence of validated assays. MIPs have been widely used as antibody mimics for important applications, and MIP-based sandwich assays have emerged as promising analytical tools for the detection of disease biomarkers. Herein, a polynorepinephrine (PNE)-based imprinted film was directly synthesized on the well surface of a 96-well plate. Subsequently, based on a commercial ELISA kit, the PCT quantification was accomplished via a colorimetric sandwich assay by replacing the capture antibody of the kit with the PNE-based MIP. This method was performed to detect canine and equine PCT in buffer and in plasma samples. Under optimal conditions, the results obtained in plasma samples showed a limit of detection (LOD) of 5.87 ng mL-1 and a reproducibility (CVav%) of 10.0% for canine samples, while a LOD = 4.46 ng mL-1 and CVav% = 7.61% were obtained for equine samples.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antibodies
  • Dogs
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / veterinary
  • Horses
  • Humans
  • Immunoassay / methods
  • Immunoassay / veterinary
  • Molecularly Imprinted Polymers
  • Procalcitonin*
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Sepsis* / diagnosis
  • Sepsis* / veterinary

Substances

  • Procalcitonin
  • Molecularly Imprinted Polymers
  • Antibodies