Dual dye-loaded Au@Ag coupled to a lateral flow immunoassay for the accurate and sensitive detection of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection

We present an attractive model of surface-enhanced Raman scattering-based lateral flow immunoassay (SERS-LFIA) for the sensitive and accurate detection of Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP) infection in human serum. The SERS-LFIA strip uses Au@Ag nanoparticles (Au@Ag NPs) loaded with two layers of Raman dye 5,5′-dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB) as SERS tags. The advantages of the dual dye-loaded SERS tags (Au/DTNB@Ag/DTNB) are the high sensitivity and the bioconjugation flexibility of the detection antibody. As determined from our SERS-LFIA strip, human IgM was quantified by monitoring the SERS signal on the test line. The limit of detection for human IgM was 0.1 ng mL(−1), which was 100 times more sensitive than that by using the colorimetric method. Our assay results for 20 MP-specific IgM positive serum specimens showed 100% accuracy and detection rate, whereas the parallel enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay only showed 85% detection rate. The SERS-LFIA strip also exhibited high specificity and potential clinical applications. Therefore, our SERS-based LFIA strip has strong potential for practical applications in the sensitive and rapid detection of MP.