Application of a Waveguide-Mode Sensor to Blood Testing for Hepatitis B Virus, Hepatitis C Virus, Human Immunodeficiency Virus and <i>Treponema pallidum</i> Infection

• Main Authors: Shigeyuki Uno, Takenori Shimizu, Torahiko Tanaka, Hiroki Ashiba, Makoto Fujimaki, Mutsuo Tanaka, Koichi Awazu, Makoto Makishima
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-04-01
• Series: Sensors
• Subjects: waveguide-mode sensor; on-site blood testing; hepatitis B virus; hepatitis C virus; human immunodeficiency virus; <i>Treponema pallidum</i>
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/19/7/1729

Testing for blood-transmitted infectious agents is an important aspect of safe medical treatment. During emergencies, such as significant earthquakes, many patients need surgical treatment and/or blood transfusion. Because a waveguide mode (WM) sensor can be used as a portable, on-site blood testing device in emergency settings, we have previously developed WM sensors for detection of antibodies against hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus and for forward ABO and Rh(D) and reverse ABO blood typing. In this study, we compared signal enhancement methods using secondary antibodies conjugated with peroxidase, a fluorescent dye, and gold nanoparticles, and found that the peroxidase reaction method offers superior sensitivity while gold nanoparticles provide the most rapid detection of anti-HBs antibody. Next, we examined whether we could apply a WM sensor with signal enhancement with peroxidase or gold nanoparticles to detection of antibodies against hepatitis C virus, human immunodeficiency virus and <i>Treponema pallidum</i>, and HBs antigen in plasma. We showed that a WM sensor can detect significant signals of these infectious agents within 30 min. Therefore, a portable device utilizing a WM sensor can be used for on-site blood testing of infectious agents in emergency settings.