PNNL

Abstract

Sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) microarrays have great potential for validating biomarkers of disease. ELISA relies on robust affinity reagents that retain activity when immobilized or when labeled for detection. Single-chain antibodies (scFv) are affinity reagents that have greater potential for high-throughput production than traditional immunoglobin G (IgG). Unfortunately, scFv are typically less stabile than IgG and not always suitable for use in sandwich ELISAs. We therefore investigated different immobilization strategies and scFv structural modifications to see if we could develop a more robust scFv reagent. Two promising strategies that emerged from these studies: 1) the precapture of epitope-tagged scFv using an anti-epitope antibody and 2) the direct printing of a thioredoxin/scFv fusion protein on glass slides. The use of either strategy improved the stability of immobilized scFv and increased the sensitivity of the scFv ELISA microarray assays, although the anti-epitope precapture method had a risk of reagent transfer. Using the direct printing method, we show that anti-PSA scFv are highly specific when tested against 21 different IgG-based assays. Finally, the scFv microarray PSA assay gave comparable results (R2 = 0.95) to a commercial 96-well ELISA when tested using serum samples. Overall, these results suggest that minor modifications of the scFv protein structure are sufficiently to produce reagents that are suitable for use in multiplex assay systems.