Immunoagglutination Assays in Acoustofluidic Chips
Agglutination; acustofluidics chip; Immunoagglutination Assays e Clinical
Diagnosis
In this work, we studied the effects of acoustofluidics on immunagglutination assays through
the particle agglutination reaction of latex particles coated with anti-PCR gamma globulin.
We used an acoustofluidic chip composed of microchannels and an acoustic microcavity, in
which the particles are levitated and clustered in the central regions due to radiation force.
We performed agglutination tests on the acoustofluidic chip using the BIOLATEX PCR
kit to characterize the chip. Initially, we investigated the agglutination patterns formed on
a slide by optical microscopy. Then, we analyzed how these patterns behaved within the
acoustic microcavity, investigating the reactions between antigens and antibodies and the
conditions necessary for this reaction, as well as evaluating the acoustofluidic chip in terms
of repeatability, reproducibility, detection limit, and sensitivity. We demonstrated that
acoustofluidic systems have great potential for clinical analyses, especially for the reaction
between antigens and antibodies, increasing the interaction between these components.
A significant decrease in reaction time and greater stability of agglutinates within the
microcavity were observed through the agglutination test on the chip. The detection limit
was found to be 187,5 pg/μL, which is approximately 32 times higher than that of the
conventional test, enabling greater sensitivity of the test. The acoustofluidic chip has
unique characteristics that allow its application in life sciences, particularly in the field of
clinical diagnostics, offering results with great potential.