Wheat Germ Agglutinin-Modified "Three-in-One" Multifunctional Probe Driven Broad-Spectrum and Flexible Immunochromatographic Diagnosis of viruses With High Sensitivity

• Published in: Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany) Germany), 2024-10, p.e2406053
• Main Authors: Wu, Ting, Liu, Yun, Zhou, Sihai, Li, Jiaxuan, Sun, Guohui, Gu, Bing, Wang, Chongwen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1613-6810; 1613-6829; 1613-6829
• DOI: 10.1002/smll.202406053

The conventional lateral flow assay (LFA) fails to the demands for the accurate screening of viruses as a result of its low sensitivity of colorimetric signal output and poor universality limited by antibody pairs. Here, a magnetically assisted dual-signal output LFA platform is developed for the ultrasensitive, universal, and flexible detection of viruses. A "three-in-one" multifunctional probe (MAuDQD) is prepared using a 180 nm Fe O core to load numerous Au nanoparticles (NPs) and two layers of QDs, which can substantially improve the sensitivity of LFA through coupling with the effects of magnetic enrichment and colorimetric/fluorescent enhancement. Wheat germ agglutinin (WGA)-modified MAuDQD attained the broad-spectrum capture viral membrane proteins and the colorimetric/fluorescent dual-mode detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and monkeypox virus (MPXV) on the LFA strip. In the colorimetric mode, the target viruses detected directly, with the visual sensitivity reaching 0.1-0.5 ng mL and the fluorescent mode supported quantitative analysis of SARS-CoV-2/MPXV with limits of detection decreasing to pg mL level. Practicability of the MAuDQD@WGA-LFA is verified through the detection of 33 real clinical samples, showing the proposed assay has a great potential to become a sensitive, accurate, and universal tool for on-site monitoring of viral infections.