EMILIO AGUINALDO COLLEGE

Gov. D. Mangubat Ave., Brgy. Burol Main, City of Dasmariñas, Cavite 4114, Philippines
Tel. Nos. (046) 416-4339/41 www.eac.edu.ph

SCHOOL OF MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY

Ricafort, Sean Christopher R.

MMLS 3-2
JOURNAL CRITIQUING
IMMUNOLOGY-SEROLOGY LECTURE

Journal title: Recent advances in sensitive surface-enhanced Raman scattering-based lateral

flow assay platforms for point-of-care diagnostics of infectious diseases

1. The researcher’s aim in the study is to review and understand the recent advances of
sensitive surface-enhanced Raman scattering-based lateral flow assay using in point-of-care
diagnosis of infectious disease. The study is relevant in current condition mainly because of
the outbreak of COVID-19 worldwide. This can be use a potential detector of certain
infectious disease because of its high sensitivity and multiplex detection capability. In
addition, several serological test are not capable or not reliable platforms in detecting
disease which can be a major issue in diagnosis of infectious disease. This can be helpful to
have more variety of testing and improving the diagnosis of several infectious diseases.
Therefore, integration of SERS and LFA can provide reliable platform for POC diagnosis of
various infection diseases. Not only can it be beneficial for doctors in diagnosis of the
disease, but also the patient that can be save because of its reliability and accountability.

2. As the methodology of the study. Researchers reviewed the applications of using only LFA
platforms and SERS-based LFA platforms for the diagnosis of infectious disease in different
procedures. The LFA platforms mainly used SARS-CoV-2 for detecting viral RNAs as well as
using it as a serological test. In detecting viral RNAs, researchers uses CRISPR-Cas-based LFA
platform reduce its detection time for SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid. This method relies on the
cleavage of a FAM-biotin reporter which forms a colored product upon the detection of
antibodies. Viral RNA sequences were detected in a range of 10–100 copies per microliter of
input using synthetic coronavirus RNA fragments. On the other hand, LFA strips are observed
as serological test of SARS-CoV-2. Since PCR techniques cannot be used for disease
progression, this method studied for the potential application in the detection of disease
progression. The result were obtained within 10 minutes which indicates its possible use for
clinical diagnostics. This assay can be used for the assessment of development of SARS-CoV-2
as well as patients’ response to the treatment. Another study conducted the comparison of
using LFA and ELISA in detection of IgG and IgM. No significant difference were observed in
both assays which suggest the potential of using LFA in detection of disease progression. For
the other method, SERS-based LFA used in the diagnosis of infectious disease for the
following categories: (1) Immunoassays using SERS-LFA; (2) DNA detection using SERS-LFA;
and (3) Detection of viral and bacterial pathogens using SERS-LFAs. SERS-based LFA platform
is used as an immunoassay for detection of antigen of staphylococcal enterotoxin (SEB) as
well as for the detection of antibodies and other biomarkers. SERS-LFA is also used in

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Gov. D. Mangubat Ave., Brgy. Burol Main, City of Dasmariñas, Cavite 4114, Philippines
Tel. Nos. (046) 416-4339/41 www.eac.edu.ph

SCHOOL OF MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY

detecting DNA which is a strong candidate mainly for substitution of RT-PCR for overcoming
the low sensitivity problem inherent in conventional detection methods. SERS-LFA is used
mainly for detection and quantification of HIV-1 DNA. Lastly, SERS-LFA also used in the
detection of viral and bacterial pathogens. It demonstrated the result by using SERS nanotag
and observe if there will be T and C lines being captured. SERS nanotags were only captured
at the C line for a sample without the target virus. Also, this procedure is used to detect and
analyze three different pathogenic bacteria and found out that it is possible by monitoring
the characteristic Raman peak intensities of the Raman reporter-labeled SERS tags
accumulated at the T and C lines. SERS-LFA platform has significant potential for the early
detection of bacterial pathogens in the field.

3. The study concluded that the use of the combination of SERS and LFA as a detection tools is
a new diagnostic modality for accurate diagnose of infectious disease. This is possible
because of LFA provide a user-friendly and easily accessible device platform and SERS
detection methods serve as a highly sensitive sensing tool. Application of SERS-LFAs in
quantitative analysis has been successful in helping researchers. However, several issues are
needed to address in using this techniques. First issues is the unstable nature of LFA strips
using AuNPs in high-temperature regions which restricts the diagnosis of tropical infectious
diseases such as dengue fever and Zika virus infection. The signal of SERS nanotags is a
significant concern as well as reproducibility. Considering the consistency of SERS active
sites on the test. The repeatability of SERS nanotags' signals is a significant concern as well.
The use of SERS-LFAs in quantitative analysis has been hampered since it is challenging to
achieve reproducibility of SERS active sites on the test line. Second, for effective analysis of
information-rich Raman spectrum data, modern data treatment methods, including neural
networks and machine learning algorithms, are necessary. These software techniques will
be useful for both high-throughput clinical data analysis and quick and effective data
analysis of several infectious disease biomarkers. This software should be integrated to the
computer system with the SERS-LFA in order to execute more accurate clinical analysis by
avoiding the misinterpretation of complicated Raman data. Third, to create on-site
diagnostic platforms for infectious diseases, it's important to combine SERS-based LFA strips
with a portable Raman system. Miniaturized Raman systems are available, but there's still a
need for a durable, user-friendly system that can collect data with limited training. An
accessible clinical Raman spectral data repository is also required to extend the system's use
for multiple disease targets. Lastly, there should be collaboration between clinical doctor
and laboratory researchers for translation from basic sciences to clinical applications. The
technique will be developed by gathering and analyzing patient samples which will be
authorized by medical research. Therefore, collaboration between clinical researchers and
lab scientists facilitates clinical research.
4. The limitation of the study that I have seen is the PCR for COVID-19 is still much efficient to
use that SERS-LFA to diagnose the disease. For this instance, SERS-LFA will not be
recommended to use if there will be other test to be more effective in diagnosis of

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Tel. Nos. (046) 416-4339/41 www.eac.edu.ph

SCHOOL OF MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY

infectious disease. Also, Technology is for this test is still not developed so the efficiency of
the analyses of data will be lesser and will not perform more reliable for this time. It is
stated that the research have its issue in having accurate results in using appropriate
antibodies or recombinant proteins associated to SARS-CoV-2 which needs more time to be
improved. I would suggest that further improvement of the platform is needed to have
much reliable source of diagnosis of different infectious disease. Also this should be tested
more in many infectious diseases to prove the reliability of this platform.

5. As a newly developed research, this study would generate attention to the researchers as it
has a potential to be an effective POC diagnosis for infectious disease which is one of our
concerns in health. The study can be further improved with collaborative efforts of different
researchers and incorporate it as a serologic test. If this can succeed, more people will be
helped and saved by having rapid diagnosis and accurate results in detecting infectious
disease. More clinical laboratories will adapt to the use of SERS-LFA in POC diagnosis of
infectious disease. In addition, government may recognize this study and help in further
improving the study by contributing through funding means in conducting the research.

Reference:

Kim, K., Kashefi-Kheyrabadi, L., Joung, Y., Kim, K., Dang, H., Chavan, S. G., Choo, J. (2020).
Recent advances in sensitive surface-enhanced Raman scattering-based lateral flow
assay platforms for point-of-care diagnostics of infectious diseases. Sensors and
Actuators B: Chemical, 129214. doi:10.1016/j.snb.2020.129214 

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