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

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 15; no. 2; p. e0228772
• Main Authors: Chou, Eunice, Lasek-Nesselquist, Erica, Taubner, Benjamin, Pilar, Arturo, Guignon, Ernest, Page, William, Lin, Yi-Pin, Cady, Nathaniel C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 10.02.2020; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Algorithms; Antibodies; Antibodies, Bacterial - blood; Biochips; Biological products; Biology and Life Sciences; Biomarkers; Data collection; Diagnosis; Diagnostic systems; Diseases; Engineering and Technology; Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; Fluorescence; Health aspects; Humans; Immunoglobulins; Infection; Infections; Infectious diseases; Lab-On-A-Chip Devices; Lyme disease; Lyme Disease - blood; Lyme Disease - diagnosis; Lyme Disease - immunology; Mass Screening - instrumentation; Medical diagnosis; Medical research; Medical treatment; Medicine and Health Sciences; Multiplexing; Parasitic diseases; Physical Sciences; Plasmonics; Protein arrays; Research and Analysis Methods; Sensitivity; Technology; Tick-borne diseases; Time Factors; Vector-borne diseases; New York; United States > US; Connecticut
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0228772

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.