Authors:

Akansha Chauhan

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About Paper:

Cervical cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer among women globally and occurs disproportionately in low- and middle-income countries due to limited access to the HPV vaccines known to prevent 90% of this cancer. Screening tools for cervical cancer are often invasive, expensive, or time-intensive. This project aims to develop a rapid, protein-based lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA), similar to a COVID-19 test, for early-stage cervical cancer screening at the point-of-care. We target MCM2, a protein biomarker for early-stage cervical cancer, which we conjugated to gold nanoparticles using passive adsorption. Horseradish peroxidase with a color-changing substrate was used to enzymatically amplify the colorimetric signal at the test and control lines. The LFIA features a nitrocellulose membrane with bio-printed antibodies, sample pad, conjugate pad, and absorbent pad. We evaluated various parameters including the location and concentration of the test and control line, the optical density of the nanoparticle solution, sample volumes, and assay runtimes. Image processing software (Fiji) was used to quantify the color intensity at the test line to evaluate binding efficacy. Dynamic light scattering confirmed the average hydrodynamic diameter of the MCM2 conjugated nanoparticles to be 74 nm, validating the conjugates' stability in solution. The optimized assays were striped onto the nitrocellulose membrane using 1 mg/mL anti-MCM2 capture antibody. Future work will improve the clinical sensitivity and specificity of the LFIA. Ultimately, this assay will be interpreted by eye, allowing for rapid and low-cost screening of early-stage cervical cancer. Keywords: Lateral Flow Assay; Cervical Cancer; Antibody-Antigen

Source:

Purdue University / 2024

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Co-authors:

Akansha Chauhan