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PURPOSE: This study aimed to evaluate ichroma™ IGRA-TB, a novel point-of-care platform for assaying IFN-γ release, and to compare it with QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT-GIT) for identifying Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb) infection. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We recruited 60 healthy subjects, and blood samples were obtained in QFT-GIT blood collection tubes. The blood collection tubes were incubated at 37°C, and culture supernatant was harvested after 18-24 hours. IFN-γ responses were assessed by the ichroma™ IGRA-TB cartridge and the QFT-GIT IFN-γ enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Three active TB patients were recruited as a positive control for M. tb infection. RESULTS: The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of the ichroma™ IGRA-TB test for differentiating between infected and non-infected individuals was 0.9706 (p

We report the development of a surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-based lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) sensor for the highly sensitive detection of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) in clinical fluids. Here, Raman reporter-labeled gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were used as SERS nano tags. Using this SERS-based LFIA test strip, the presence of TSH could be identified through a color change in the test line. In addition, quantitative evaluation of TSH was possible by monitoring the characteristic Raman peak intensity of SERS nano tags. The limit of detection (LOD) was estimated to be 0.025 μIU/mL, which is approximately two orders of magnitude more sensitive than that achieved from the conventional colorimetric LFIA sensor based on the naked eye. Consequently, it is possible to diagnose hyperthyroidism as well as hypothyroidism since a TSH concentration lower than 0.5 μIU/mL can be detected using this SERS-based LFIA detection technique. Therefore, this approach has strong potential feasibility for application in the early diagnosis of TSH hormone-related diseases.