May 10th 2021: AWSensors offers acoustic sensors for antibody detection. Acoustic biosensor-based immunosensing with  High-Fundamental Frequency Quartz Crystal Microbalance (HFF-QCM) and Love-SAW sensors offers several advantages over Enzyme Linked Immuno Assay (ELISA) or Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR).

Acoustic sensors antibody detection advantages over ELISA

• Sensitivity approximately as a standard ELISA or better.
• Acoustic sensors offer label-free detection of the antibody-antigen binding.
• Full automation.
• Pre-calibrated (the user does not need to run the standards. More samples can be run. Reduced cost per sample).
• Speed.
• Quantitative real-time /in-situ monitoring.
• Turn-key solution (no need to specialized detection equipment, reader, or spectrophotometer).
• Reduced complexity, relaxed requirements for trained personnel.
• Small volumes (~ 10 of ul per sample).
• Parallelization and multiple analyte detection through sensor arrays.
• Sensor re-usablity, leading to reduced assay cost.

Acoustic sensors antibody detection advantages over SPR

• Better sensitivity.
• QCM also sees solvent.
• Provides conformational information of the surface film.
• Miniaturization and integration into portable systems.
• Easier to develop parallel and multiple analyte assays through sensor arrays.
• Affordability.

Therefore, one can develop biosensors based on acoustic immunosensors with highly attractive features in order to rapidly detect pathogens like viruses and bacteria [1], and low molecular weigh compounds.

Application Example

Our Biosensor Application Note  is an application example where we describe a sensitive detection of a low molecular weight pesticide carbaryl using competitive immunoassay with hapen-conjugates immobilized on high-fundamental frequency QCMD sensors, SAMs and monoclonal antibodies (MAb) [2, 3]. As a result, we achieved a very sensitive detection of the carbaryl analyte.

 

References

[1] Surface Generated Acoustic Wave Biosensors for the Detection of Pathogens: A Review 

[2] High-frequency phase shift measurement greatly enhances the sensitivity of QCM immunosensors

[3] Love Wave Immunosensor for the Detection of Carbaryl Pesticide