Automated chemiluminescent dual-analyte immunoassay based on resolved immunosensing channels

A novel system of series-wound immunosensing channels (SWIC) was proposed for automated chemiluminescent (CL) dual-analyte immunoassay by immobilizing respectively different capture antibodies on the inner walls of series-wound glass channels. This system could use a single enzyme as label to perform multiplex immunoassay in one fluid way. Using α-fetoprotein (AFP) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) as model analytes, the mixture including AFP, horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-labeled anti-AFP antibody, CEA and HRP-labeled anti-CEA antibody was introduced into the SWIC for carrying out the on-line incubation. Upon injection of CL substrate the CL signals from the two immunosensing channels were conveniently resolved and near-simultaneously collected with the aid of optical shutter. AFP and CEA could be rapidly assayed in the ranges of 1.0–100 and 1.0–80 ng/ml with detection limits of 0.41 and 0.39 ng/ml, respectively. The assay results of clinical serum samples were in an acceptable agreement with the reference values. This designed flow-through immunosensing system based on SWIC provided an automated, reusable, simple, sensitive and low-cost approach for multianalyte immunoassay.