Author Date

2020-06-16

Degree Name

Department

Physiology and Developmental Biology

College

Life Sciences

Defense Date

2020-06-08

Publication Date

2020-06-16

First Faculty Advisor

Dr. Richard Watt

First Faculty Reader

Dr. Richard Robison

Honors Coordinator

Dr. Roy Silcox

Keywords

lateral flow immunoassay, diagnostics

Abstract

Lateral flow immunoassays (LFIs) are equipment-free tests that produce results quickly using small sample volumes. Colored lines appear as the test runs, indicating the presence of a biomarker. LFIs are ideal in a variety of settings. Development of these assays can be complicated for small team operations, and tests are not sufficiently adaptable for low resource settings. If robust point-of-care tests can be developed on site, they can expand the reach of global diagnostics, improving health around the world. We report a simple empowering LFI (seLFI) that only requires treated printer paper and a plastic backing card. This eliminates the use of nitrocellulose membrane, sample pad, conjugate pad, absorbance pad, and all the required layering during assembly. Additionally, test and control line antibodies can be applied to this treated paper by a rollerball pen, allowing on site preparation of the seLFI. The seLFI is a low-cost, labor-saving, single-sheet diagnostic that performs comparably to commercially available LFIs. These tests could assist small team operations in developing versatile tests to use on site, or to resolve complications during commercialization. They could also be used in low-resource or at-home settings to personalize tests before running them. We present the proof-of-concept seLFI to improve the accessibility, robustness and versatility of diagnostics research.