Portable immunosensor for the fast amperometric detection of anti-hantavirus antibodies

An amperometric immunosensor based on a recombinant nucleocapsid antigen ha s been developed for fast determination of antibodies against Sin Nombre (S N) virus in human blood serum. This approach combines the advantages of uti lization of highly dispersed immunosorbent, with highly sensitive electroch emical detection of enzyme-marker, and flow-injection scheme of immunoassay . A main benefit of recombinant nucleocapsid antigen is that antigen prepar ation and standardization is easy. The complete immunoassay can be performe d in 24 minutes. The short overall assay time could be a major advantage in the field of diagnostic screening of infectious diseases in mobile laborat ories and small hospitals. The immunosensor has been successfully used in t he determination of anti-Hantavirus IgG in human blood plasma and is easily adaptable for the detection of other types of viral infections.