Single Nanoparticle Detection for Multiplexed Protein Diagnostics with Attomolar Sensitivity in Serum and Unprocessed Whole Blood

Although biomarkers exist for a range of disease diagnostics, a single low-cost platform exhibiting the required sensitivity, a large dynamic-range and multiplexing capability, and zero sample preparation remains in high demand for a variety of clinical applications. The Interferometric Reflectance Imaging Sensor (IRIS) was utilized to digitally detect and size single gold nanoparticles to identify protein biomarkers in unprocessed serum and blood samples. IRIS is a simple, inexpensive, multiplexed, high-throughput, and label-free optical biosensor that was originally used to quantify biomass captured on a surface with moderate sensitivity. Here we demonstrate detection of β-lactoglobulin, a cow’s milk whey protein spiked in serum (>10 orders of magnitude) and whole blood (>5 orders of magnitude), at attomolar sensitivity. The clinical utility of IRIS was demonstrated by detecting allergen-specific IgE from microliters of characterized human serum and unprocessed whole blood samples by using secondary antibodies against human IgE labeled with 40 nm gold nanoparticles. To the best of our knowledge, this level of sensitivity over a large dynamic range has not been previously demonstrated.IRIS offers four main advantages compared to existing technologies: it (i) detects proteins from attomolar to nanomolar concentrations in unprocessed biological samples, (ii) unambiguously discriminates nanoparticles tags on a robust and physically large sensor area, (iii) detects protein targets with conjugated very small nanoparticle tags (∼40 nm diameter), which minimally affect assay kinetics compared to conventional microparticle tagging methods, and (iv) utilizes components that make the instrument inexpensive, robust, and portable. These features make IRIS an ideal candidate for clinical and diagnostic applications.