Abstract
Diagnosis tests for Influenza A require rapidity and cost-effectiveness for on-site analysis. The optical Compact Disk technology is a potential candidate to provide such requirements. In this paper, a simple, competitive assay for Influenza diagnosis is set up that demonstrates the great potential of the developed methodology in problems such as the massive analyses for mass populations. The polycarbonate surface chemical modification of commercial DVDs to covalently attach Influenza-capture antibodies is reported, along with the full characterization of each modification step and the development of the detection sandwich immunoassay employing a standard DVD reader for quantification. The method includes positive and negative controls for each sample, as well as internal standards, if necessary, to normalize the signal. The assay is seen to be very sensitive with a detection limit of 29 ng mL -1. Furthermore, real spiked saliva samples were analyzed with quantitative recoveries in all cases. © The Royal Society of Chemistry. 2012.
