Abstract:
In vitro diagnostics are tests done on samples such as blood or tissue that have been taken
from the human body.In vitro diagnosis can detect diseases or other conditions, and can
be used to monitor a person’s overall health to help cure, treat, or prevent diseases.Lateral
flow assays (LFAs) are the technology behind low-cost, simple, rapid and portable
detection devices popular in biomedicine, agriculture, food and environmental sciences.
This review presents an overview of the principle of the method and the critical
components of the assay, focusing on lateral flow immunoassays. This type of assay has
recently attracted considerable interest because of its potential to provide instantaneous
diagnosis directly to patients. The range and interpretation of results and parameters used
for evaluation of the assay will also be discussed. Finally, the major recent advances and
future diagnostic applications in the LFA field will be explored.The lateral flow assay
(LFA) is a paper-based platform for the detection and quantification of analytes in
complex mixtures, where the sample is placed on a test device and the results are
displayed within 5–30 min. Low development costs and ease of production of LFAs have
resulted in the expansion of its applications to multiple fields in which rapid tests are
required. LFA-based tests are widely used in hospitals, physician's offices and clinical
laboratories for the qualitative and quantitative detection of specific antigens and
antibodies. A variety of biological samples can be tested using LFAs, including urine,
saliva, sweat, serum, plasma, whole blood and other fluids. Further industries in which
LFA-based tests are employed include veterinary medicine, quality control, product safety
in food production, and environmental health and safety. In these areas of utilization,
rapid tests are used to screen for animal diseases, pathogens, chemicals, toxins and water
pollutants, among others.
