Automated ELISA On-Chip for the Detection of Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies

• Published in: Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 21; no. 20; p. 6785
• Main Authors: González-González, Everardo, Garcia-Ramirez, Ricardo, Díaz-Armas, Gladys Guadalupe, Esparza, Miguel, Aguilar-Avelar, Carlos, Flores-Contreras, Elda A, Rodríguez-Sánchez, Irám Pablo, Delgado-Balderas, Jesus Rolando, Soto-García, Brenda, Aráiz-Hernández, Diana, Abarca-Blanco, Marisol, Yee-de León, José R, Velarde-Calvillo, Liza P, Abarca-Blanco, Alejandro, Yee-de León, Juan F
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 13.10.2021; MDPI
• Subjects: Antibodies; Antibodies, Viral; Antigens; Automation; Colorimetry; Communication; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 vaccines; Disease transmission; ELISA; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Humans; Image analysis; Immunoassay; Infections; Laboratories; Microfluidics; Pandemics; Public health; Reagents; SARS-CoV-2; Sensitivity and Specificity; Serology; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Smartphones; Software; spike protein; Statistical analysis; Statistical methods; Viral infections; United States > US; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; automated; serology; spike protein; antibodies; on-chip; microfluidics; ELISA
• ISSN: 1424-8220; 1424-8220
• DOI: 10.3390/s21206785

The COVID-19 pandemic has been the most critical public health issue in modern history due to its highly infectious and deathly potential, and the limited access to massive, low-cost, and reliable testing has significantly worsened the crisis. The recovery and the vaccination of millions of people against COVID-19 have made serological tests highly relevant to identify the presence and levels of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Due to its advantages, microfluidic-based technologies represent an attractive alternative to the conventional testing methodologies used for these purposes. In this work, we described the development of an automated ELISA on-chip capable of detecting anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in serum samples from COVID-19 patients and vaccinated individuals. The colorimetric reactions were analyzed with a microplate reader. No statistically significant differences were observed when comparing the results of our automated ELISA on-chip against the ones obtained from a traditional ELISA on a microplate. Moreover, we demonstrated that it is possible to carry out the analysis of the colorimetric reaction by performing basic image analysis of photos taken with a smartphone, which constitutes a useful alternative when lacking specialized equipment or a laboratory setting. Our automated ELISA on-chip has the potential to be used in a clinical setting and mitigates some of the burden caused by testing deficiencies.