Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy based on upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs) can detect single particles in strongly autofluorescent samples, such as plasma. Nanoparticle aggregation, however, is a problem in correlation spectroscopy measurements, and biological media are known to induce aggregation. Here we present an improved UCNP surface chemistry and use these UCNPs in an upconversion cross-correlation spectroscopy (UCCS)-based homogeneous immunoassay for thyroid-stimulating hormone, where the simultaneous emission of green- (NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+) and blue- (NaYF4:Yb3+,Tm3+) emitting UCNPs is detected when they are bound together by the analyte. The improved coating suppresses UCNP aggregation, even in plasma samples. Additionally, increasing the Tm doping of blue-emitting UCNPs enhances their brightness at a high excitation intensity and also results in a significantly shorter luminescence decay time, which improves the probability of detecting coincident blue and green emission from the bound UCNPs in the UCCS immunoassay.

Sensitive immunoassays are required for troponin, a low-abundance cardiac biomarker in blood. In contrast to conventional (analog) assays that measure the integrated signal of thousands of molecules, digital assays are based on counting individual biomarker molecules. Photon-upconversion nanoparticles (UCNP) are an excellent nanomaterial for labeling and detecting single biomarker molecules because their unique anti-Stokes emission avoids optical interference, and single nanoparticles can be reliably distinguished from the background signal. Here, the effect of the surface architecture and size of UCNP labels on the performance of upconversion-linked immunosorbent assays (ULISA) is critically assessed. The size, brightness, and surface architecture of UCNP labels are more important for measuring low troponin concentrations in human plasma than changing from an analog to a digital detection mode. Both detection modes result approximately in the same assay sensitivity, reaching a limit of detection (LOD) of 10 pg mL −1 in plasma, which is in the range of troponin concentrations found in the blood of healthy individuals.

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Upconverting nanoparticles are attractive reporters for immunoassays, because their high specific activity and lack of autofluorescence background enable their detection at extremely low concentrations. However, the sensitivity achieved with heterogeneous sandwich immunoassays using nanoparticle reporters is generally limited by the nonspecific binding of nanoparticle antibody conjugates to solid supports. In this study, we characterized plasma components associated with elevated nonspecific binding of poly(acrylic acid)-coated upconverting nanoparticles in heterogeneous two-step sandwich immunoassays. Plasma was consecutively fractionated using various chromatographic methods by selecting after each step the fractions producing the highest nonspecific binding of upconverting nanoparticle conjugates in an immunoassay for cardiac troponin I. Finally, the proteins in the fractions associated with highest amount of nonspecific binding were separated by gel electrophoresis and identified with mass spectrometry. The results indicated that complement component C1q was present in the fractions associated with the highest signal from nonspecific binding. The interference was not limited to only poly(acrylic acid)-coated nanoparticles or certain antibody combination, but occurred more generally. The interference was removed by increasing the ionic strength of the assay buffer in the sample incubation step or by adding a negatively charged blocker to bind on positively charged C1q, suggesting that the interaction is mostly electrostatic. Hence, we assume that the interference is likely to affect various negatively charged nanoparticles. The identification of complement component C1q as the major interfering protein allows for more rational design of countermeasures in future immunoassay development utilizing nanoparticle reporters. Graphical abstract