Detection of cancer before the appearance of any symptoms
is crucial
for successful treatment. Early detection is, however, very challenging,
particularly for the types of cancer with few or no symptoms at early
stages, such as epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Developing a user-friendly
method that can detect biomarkers with sufficient selectivity, sensitivity,
and reproducibility is a promising approach for overcoming the challenges
of early detection of EOC. In this study, we report a sandwich-type
microparticle immunoassay for sensitive detection of the HE4 biomarker
with laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy. Here, we cross-linked elemental
particles to a specific functional group of the targeted biomolecules
based on a covalent and non-covalent linking chemistry to improve
the sensitivity and selectivity of biomarker detection, in which Fe3O4 and SiO2 microparticles were used
to conjugate and purify the antibody–antigen in complex media.
Simultaneous detection of Fe and Si from a magnetically purified assay
significantly improves the HE4 biomarker’s detectability, in
which HE4 was detected with a limit of detection of 0.0022 pM. We
also determined the coupling ratio between HE4 and silica particles
using a silicon calibration curve.