Novel approach to the measurement of antithyroglobulin antibodies in human serum – application of the quartz crystal microbalance sensors

Measurement of antithyroglobulin antibodies (TgAb) is an inevitable laboratory tool in the management of thyroid gland diseases. Currently available immunoassays still have limitations underlying the necessity of the introduction of fast, sensitive, and label-free technologies. Our aim was to develop a method for TgAb measurement in human serum based on the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) technology. We immobilized thyroglobulin on the surface of Attana LNB Carboxyl sensor chip®, prepared standard curve covering the range of 1–50000 kIU/L, and established optimal measurement conditions. The validation included determination of the detection limit (LOD), functional sensitivity, linearity, precision, as well as the comparison with the results of the radioimmunoassay (RIA). The LOD and functional sensitivity were 4.2 kIU/L and 4.7 kIU/L, respectively. The method was linear in the range of 20–10000 kIU/L. The regression equation for comparison with RIA was CQCM = 1.0056 • CRIA – 24.2778, whereby no significant proportional or systematic difference was present. There was a good agreement with RIA in the classification of patients according to the clinical significance of the results. The developed method has advantages over currently available assays in terms of better LOQ, a higher upper limit of linearity, and precision. The characteristics of the developed method unambiguously show that the application of the QCM biosensors offers a highly reliable novel approach for the measurement of TgAb in human serum.