Fluorescence based fast diagnostics platform for the direct and indirect immunodiagnostic analysis methods

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has developed two reader prototypes for immunodiagnostic tests. VTT has also developed a one-step, homogeneous noncompetitive immunoassay for small analytes using recombinant antibodies and morphine as the model analyte. VTT developed reader for lateral flow test. Lateral flow test is a strip, which has a sample area and a detection area. In the sample area there are antibodies attached to gold or fluorescence particles, which are captured into the detection area, if a sample has a desired analyte. The concentration of the measured sample is then calculated from the fluorescence detection or color change. The second developed prototype reader is based on Time Resolved Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (TR-FRET). In this reader samples are put on microwell array. There are two fluorophores in each of the wells and emission of both fluorophores is measured. The sample concentration is calculated from these emission signals. The optimization of homogenous FRET assays for morphine was included to this project. The first results obtained with the TR-FRET reader prototype show that the sensitivity of the current morphine test is clearly adequate.