Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) affects approximately 1.1 million people in the United States, with a 30% mortality rate. A specific protein marker found in cardiac muscle, cardiac troponin I (cTnI), has shown its superior and essential role for early diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction, as well as for post-infarction risk assessment. The amount of cTnI in blood initially rises within 2-3 hours after the onset of chest discomfort and remains elevated for 7-14 days. Troponin levels are positively correlated with the extent of heart muscle damage. A rapid and high-sensitivity cTnI assay allows detection of even trivial myocardial damage, and therefore provides physicians with the necessary information to administer critical care at an earlier time.
LamdaGen has developed a highly sensitive cTnI assay using reagents supplied by HyTest Ltd. The assay is described as an Optical Enhancement System™ (OES™)-based immunoassay – also known as a Plasmonic ELISA™.
This high-sensitivity cTnI plasmonic ELISA utilizes sandwich immunoassay-coupled Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance (LSPR) technology to precisely quantitate the concentration of cTnI in human plasma and serum specimens. The enhanced sensitivity of the OES plasmonic ELISA is achieved through an enzyme-catalyzed precipitation reaction occurring on the LSPR sensor surface following specific intermolecular binding. Subsequent deposition of these precipitates on the LSPR surface leads to pronounced changes in sensor color and absorption spectra in a dose-dependent manner. The analyte quantitation is highly reproducible.