Rapid and Sensitive Detection of Troponin I-T-C Complex from Human Serum using Microwave-Accelerated Metal-Enhanced Fluorescence.

We present the rapid and sensitive detection of Troponin I-T-C (Tn I-T-C) complex from buffer and human serum samples using Microwave-Accelerated and Metal-Enhanced Fluorescence (MA-MEF) technique, which is based on the combined use of low power microwave heating, silver nanoparticle films (SNFs) and fluorescence spectroscopy. The detection of Tn I-T-C complex from buffer solutions and human serum samples on SNFs was carried out using fluorescence-based immunoassays at room temperature (control immunoassay, 2 hour total assay time) and using low-power microwave heating (MA-MEF-based immunoassay, 1 minute total assay time). A lower detection limit for Tn I-T-C complex from buffer solutions in the control immunoassay and MA-MEF-based immunoassay was 0.01 ng/ml and 0.005 ng/ml, respectively. However, the lower detection limit for Tn I-T-C complex from human serum in the control immunoassay was increased to 10 ng/ml. The use of MA-MEF technique afforded for the detection of Tn I-T-C complex from human serum samples in 1 min with a lower detection limit of 0.05 ng/ml.