A Paper-Based Immunoassay for the Detection of Immunoglobulin G

Abstract

Source: Peng, Y. et al., Covalent Binding of Antibodies to Cellulose Paper Discs and Their Applications in Naked-eye Colorimetric Immunoassays. J. Vis. Exp. (2016)

The video demonstrates a paper-based immunoassay, involving amine-functionalized cellulose discs cross-linked with glutaraldehyde. Covalent immobilization of IgG-Fc-specific capture antibodies, followed by the introduction of immunoglobulin G and horseradish peroxidase-conjugated detection antibodies, results in a color change confirming the presence of immunoglobulin G.

Protocol

1. Grafting Amine Functional Groups on Cellulose Paper Discs

1. Prepare one piece of square paper with a dimension of 1 cm × 1 cm, and 100 paper discs made from grade No. 1 cellulose paper with a diameter of 6.0 mm (medium-flow filter paper) using a hole punch.
2. To derive -NH₂ groups on the paper discs, mix 1 ml 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APS) and 10 ml acetone in a 50 ml glass bottle in the fume hood. Add paper discs to the freshly prepared APS reagent mixture, and incubate for 5 hr with orbital stirring (200 rpm) at room temperature.
   CAUTION: Handle APS and acetone in the fume hood.
3. Decant excess solution from the 50 ml glass bottle into an organic waste container.
4. Add 10 ml of acetone to the glass bottle, mix well and decant completely to remove any unreacted APS and other impurities. Repeat this step two times.
5. Spread the paper discs on the paper towel and place in a 110 °C oven for 3 hr. Allow the paper discs to cool. Store the discs in a 50 ml centrifuge tube at room temperature.
6. Use Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to check the grafting of amine groups on the cellulose square paper, as described below (Figure 1A).
   1. Turn on the computer and open the FTIR spectroscopy instrument.
   2. Open the software for FTIR spectroscopy.
   3. Go to 'Measurement → Initialize'. The rectangles for 'BS: KBr', 'Lamp: Infrared' and 'Laser' will turn green when the initialization is finished.
   4. Choose 'Data' below the rectangles, and select '%Transmittance', 'Happ-Genzel', '45', '4.0', and 'Min: 400, Max: 4000' for 'Measurement Mode', 'Apodization', 'No. of Scans', 'Resolution', and 'Range (cm-1)'.
   5. Click 'Measure'.
   6. Select 'Data file' for the background data. Write down the comments.
   7. Click 'BKG' to get the baseline for the background.
   8. Fix the square paper on the film sample holder.
   9. Select 'Data file' for the sample data. Write down the comments.
   10. Click 'Sample' to obtain the spectra for the sample.
   11. Close the FTIR spectroscopy application and turn off the computer.
7. Repeat the above steps (steps 1.1 to 1.6) to prepare amine-functionalized grade No. 113 cellulose square paper and discs (fast-flow filter paper), and obtain the FTIR spectra for the grade No. 113 square paper (Figure 1B).

2. Paper-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for immunoglobulin G (IgG) Detection

1. Add 5 ml of 0.05% glutaraldehyde solution (prepared in 50 mM PBS buffer, pH 7.4) to a 20 ml glass bottle. Immerse 15 amine-functionalized medium-flow filter paper discs in this solution and keep for 1 hr with shaking at room temperature.
   1. Concurrently, repeat Step 2.1 to prepare another 15 aldehyde functionalized fast-flow filter paper discs.
      CAUTION: Handle glutaraldehyde in the fume hood.
2. To remove unreacted glutaraldehyde from the paper discs, place the 15 medium-flow filter paper discs in a 15 ml centrifuge tube, and the 15 fast-flow filter paper discs in another 15 ml centrifuge tube. Add 5 ml of DI water to each tube and shake the tubes for 10 sec. Remove the water by aspirating with a pipette. Repeat two times to remove any unreacted glutaraldehyde.
3. Dry the paper discs in a 37 °C oven.
4. Add 5 µl and 8 µl of 0.025 mg/ml mouse IgG-Fc fragment antibodies to each of the medium-flow and fast-flow filter paper discs, respectively, and incubate for 20 min.
5. Add 10 µl of 50 mM PBS (pH 7.4) to each paper disc without removing the antibodies and incubate for 40 min for the amine aldehyde reaction.
6. Wash the paper discs with 0.2 ml of washing buffer on top of a paper towel. Repeat the wash three times.
7. Dry the paper discs in an oven at 37 °C.
8. Block the paper discs with 15 µl of blocking buffer for 10 min at room temperature.
9. Wash each paper disc with 0.2 ml of washing buffer on top of a paper towel. Repeat the wash three times.
10. Run IgG standards.
    1. Load 10 µl of various IgG concentrations (e.g., 0, 10, 125, 250, and 500 ng/ml in PBS) onto each disc in triplicate. Incubate for 1 hr at room temperature.
11. Wash the paper discs with 0.2 ml of washing buffer on top of a paper towel. Repeat the wash three times.
12. Load 10 µl of HRP conjugated mouse IgG-Fc fragment antibodies (1:10,000, 10 mM PBS, pH 7.4), and incubate for 1 hr at room temperature.
13. Wash the paper discs with 0.2 ml of washing buffer on top of a paper towel. Repeat the wash three times.
    NOTE: It is not necessary to remove the washing buffer as the results are not affected by the presence of buffer.
14. Load a 10 µl mixture of TMB and hydrogen peroxide onto each disc.
15. Take images of all paper discs with a digital camera or smart phone after 5 min of incubation.
    NOTE: In Figure 2A, '0' stands for paper discs treated with capture antibody immobilization, and the antibody-HRP/TMB solution without IgG serum.
16. Analyze the intensity of each paper disc in the image by Image J.
    1. Convert the images taken in step 3.15 to '.tif' format.
    2. Open 'Image J' software.
    3. Go to 'File → Open', choose the image to analyze.
    4. Choose the shape button 'Oval'.
    5. Go to 'Image → Type → 32 bit'.
    6. Go to 'Edit → Invert'.
    7. Go to 'Analyze → Measure'.
    8. Copy and analyze the data in a spreadsheet.

Results

Figure 1. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra of untreated and APS-treated medium-flow filter square paper (A) and fast-flow filter square paper (B). A. The spectra for untreated medium-flow filter square pap...

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Cellulose filter paper, Grade1 (medium flow filter paper)	GE Healthcare Pte Ltd Singapore	1001 110
Cellulose filter paper, Grade113 (Fast flow filter paper)	Sigma-Aldrich, Singapore	1113-320
3-Aminopropyltrimethoxysilane	Sigma-Aldrich, Singapore	T1255	>96%
Glutaraldehyde	Sigma-Aldrich, Singapore	G6257	Grade II, 25% in H2O
Bovine serum album	Sigma-Aldrich, Singapore	A2153
Skimmed milk powder	Louis François		Packed by Kitchen Capers, Singapore
Tris base	Promega	H5135
Sodium periodate	Merck	106597
Na2HPO4	Merck	106585
KH2PO4	Merck	104873
NaCl	CALBIOCHEM	567441
NaOH	Merck	106462
HCL	Merck	100317
Phosphate buffer saline (PBS)	N/A	N/A	PBS, containing 137 mmol/L NaCl, 2.7 mmol/L KCl, 8.0 mmol/L Na2HPO4 and 1.5 mmol/L KH2PO4, is prepared with water and adjusted to pH 7.4 with 0.1 mol/L NaOH or 0.1 mol/L HCl
Acetone	Tee Hai Chem Pte Ltd Singapore	9005-68
Mixture of TMB and hydrogen peroxide solution	1-Step ultra TMB-ELISA solution , Thermo Scientific Pierce	34029	1 L
Affinity purified goat anti-Mouse IgG-Fc coating antibody	Bethyl Laboratories, Inc	A90-131A
Mouse reference serum	Bethyl Laboratories, Inc	RS10-101-5	9.5 mg/mL
HRP conjugated goat anti-mouse IgG-Fc detection antibody	Bethyl Laboratories, Inc	A90-131P
Equipment
Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer	Shimadzu IR Prestige-21	N/A
Oven	NUVE FN500	N/A
Turbo mixer VM-2000	MYC LTD	N/A
Image J	RGB, free download	N/A