Development of hydrogel biochip for in vitro allergy diagnostics

•A hydrogel-based biochip for 21 specific and total IgE assays was developed.•The biochip delivers quantitative results.•221 serum samples from allergic patients and healthy donors were analyzed.•The microarray shows good correlation with the EIA reference method.

A hydrogel biochip was developed for the simultaneous quantitative determination of sIgE for 21 allergens and total IgE in human serum. The biochips are manufactured by photoinduced copolymerization of different molecules (allergens and antibodies) with gel-forming monomers resulting in the formation of three-dimensional hydrogel elements (1 nl gel drops). After incubation of the biochip with the serum, the results are visualized using fluorescently labeled anti-IgE antibodies. Using biochips, serum samples from allergic patients and healthy donors were analyzed and good correlation with the results obtained using commercial EIA test systems of generally recognized quality (Dr. Fooke Laboratorien GmbH, Germany) was observed.