Quantitative analysis of plasma interleiukin-6 by immunoassay on microchip

Sandwich enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) is one of the most frequently employed assays for clinical diagnosis, since this enables the investigator to identify specific protein biomarkers. However, the conventional assay using a 96-well microtitration plate is time- and sample-consuming, and therefore is not suitable for rapid diagnosis. To overcome these drawbacks, we performed a sandwich ELISA on a microchip. We employed the piezoelectric inkjet printing for deposition and fixation of 1st antibody on the microchannnel surface (300 μm width and 100 μm depth). Model analyte was interleukin-6 (IL-6) which was one of the inflammatory cytokine. After blocking the microchannel, antigen, biotin-labeled 2nd antibody, and avidin-labeled peroxidase were infused into the microchannel and incubated for 20 min, 10 min, and 5 min, respectively. This assay could detect 2 pg/ml and quantitatively measure the range of 0-32 pg/ml. Liner regression analysis of plasma IL-6 concentration obtained by microchip and conventional methods exhibited a significant relationship (R² = 0.9964). This assay reduced the time for the antigen-antibody reaction to 1/6, and the consumption of samples and reagents to 1/50 compared with the conventional method. This assay enables us to determine plasma IL-6 with accuracy, high sensitivity, time saving ability, and low consumption of sample and reagents, and thus will be applicable to clinic diagnosis.