Portable SpectroChip-Based Immunoassay Platform for Rapid and Accurate Melamine Quantification in Urine Samples

Growing concerns about the health risks of melamine adulteration in food products highlight the urgent need for reliable detection methods. However, the long-term effects of chronic low-level melamine exposure remain inadequately explored. This study introduces THE ONE InstantCare platform, a portab...

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Main Authors: Cheng-Hao Ko, Wei-Yi Kong, Abel Chernet Kabiso, Wei-Huai Chiu, Ashenafi Belihu Tadesse, Chitsung Hong, Chia-Fang Wu, Hung-Hsun Lin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-11-01
Series:Toxics
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6304/12/12/870
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author Cheng-Hao Ko
Wei-Yi Kong
Abel Chernet Kabiso
Wei-Huai Chiu
Ashenafi Belihu Tadesse
Chitsung Hong
Chia-Fang Wu
Hung-Hsun Lin
author_facet Cheng-Hao Ko
Wei-Yi Kong
Abel Chernet Kabiso
Wei-Huai Chiu
Ashenafi Belihu Tadesse
Chitsung Hong
Chia-Fang Wu
Hung-Hsun Lin
author_sort Cheng-Hao Ko
collection DOAJ
description Growing concerns about the health risks of melamine adulteration in food products highlight the urgent need for reliable detection methods. However, the long-term effects of chronic low-level melamine exposure remain inadequately explored. This study introduces THE ONE InstantCare platform, a portable immunoassay analyzer integrating a SpectroChip-based spectral processing unit (SPU) with lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) for sensitive and accurate quantification of melamine in human urine. This platform provides a cost-effective, rapid, and user-friendly point-of-care (POC) solution for melamine detection. Analytical evaluations across eight melamine concentrations (0–100 parts per billion, ppb) achieved a limit of detection (LOD) of 1.91 ppb. Validation with 24 human urine samples demonstrated strong concordance with liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS), yielding an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of 0.9220, a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.9389, and 95% agreement in Bland–Altman analysis. High reproducibility was observed, with an intraday coefficient of variation (CV) of 6.53% and acceptable interday CV values, while interference studies confirmed reliability in the presence of common biological substances. By delivering results in approximately 10 min, THE ONE InstantCare platform significantly reduces analysis time compared to LC-MS, which typically requires several hours. This novel platform enhances food safety surveillance and advances human health risk assessments, particularly for evaluating melamine-linked kidney damage. Its versatility and robust performance make it a promising tool for environmental monitoring and clinical diagnostics, enabling the detection of diverse biomarkers with high sensitivity and reproducibility.
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spelling doaj-art-0db55d72414648e083ab1319e2004d5f2025-08-20T02:51:10ZengMDPI AGToxics2305-63042024-11-01121287010.3390/toxics12120870Portable SpectroChip-Based Immunoassay Platform for Rapid and Accurate Melamine Quantification in Urine SamplesCheng-Hao Ko0Wei-Yi Kong1Abel Chernet Kabiso2Wei-Huai Chiu3Ashenafi Belihu Tadesse4Chitsung Hong5Chia-Fang Wu6Hung-Hsun Lin7Graduate Institute of Automation and Control, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 106, TaiwanGraduate Institute of Automation and Control, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 106, TaiwanGraduate Institute of Automation and Control, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 106, TaiwanGraduate Institute of Automation and Control, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 106, TaiwanGraduate Institute of Automation and Control, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 106, TaiwanSpectroChip Inc., Hsinchu 310, TaiwanResearch Center for Environmental Changes, Academia Sinica (AS), Taipei 115, TaiwanResearch Center for Environmental Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, TaiwanGrowing concerns about the health risks of melamine adulteration in food products highlight the urgent need for reliable detection methods. However, the long-term effects of chronic low-level melamine exposure remain inadequately explored. This study introduces THE ONE InstantCare platform, a portable immunoassay analyzer integrating a SpectroChip-based spectral processing unit (SPU) with lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) for sensitive and accurate quantification of melamine in human urine. This platform provides a cost-effective, rapid, and user-friendly point-of-care (POC) solution for melamine detection. Analytical evaluations across eight melamine concentrations (0–100 parts per billion, ppb) achieved a limit of detection (LOD) of 1.91 ppb. Validation with 24 human urine samples demonstrated strong concordance with liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS), yielding an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of 0.9220, a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.9389, and 95% agreement in Bland–Altman analysis. High reproducibility was observed, with an intraday coefficient of variation (CV) of 6.53% and acceptable interday CV values, while interference studies confirmed reliability in the presence of common biological substances. By delivering results in approximately 10 min, THE ONE InstantCare platform significantly reduces analysis time compared to LC-MS, which typically requires several hours. This novel platform enhances food safety surveillance and advances human health risk assessments, particularly for evaluating melamine-linked kidney damage. Its versatility and robust performance make it a promising tool for environmental monitoring and clinical diagnostics, enabling the detection of diverse biomarkers with high sensitivity and reproducibility.https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6304/12/12/870melamine detectionSpectroChipspectral processing unit (SPU)point-of-care (POC)lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA)liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS)
spellingShingle Cheng-Hao Ko
Wei-Yi Kong
Abel Chernet Kabiso
Wei-Huai Chiu
Ashenafi Belihu Tadesse
Chitsung Hong
Chia-Fang Wu
Hung-Hsun Lin
Portable SpectroChip-Based Immunoassay Platform for Rapid and Accurate Melamine Quantification in Urine Samples
Toxics
melamine detection
SpectroChip
spectral processing unit (SPU)
point-of-care (POC)
lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA)
liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS)
title Portable SpectroChip-Based Immunoassay Platform for Rapid and Accurate Melamine Quantification in Urine Samples
title_full Portable SpectroChip-Based Immunoassay Platform for Rapid and Accurate Melamine Quantification in Urine Samples
title_fullStr Portable SpectroChip-Based Immunoassay Platform for Rapid and Accurate Melamine Quantification in Urine Samples
title_full_unstemmed Portable SpectroChip-Based Immunoassay Platform for Rapid and Accurate Melamine Quantification in Urine Samples
title_short Portable SpectroChip-Based Immunoassay Platform for Rapid and Accurate Melamine Quantification in Urine Samples
title_sort portable spectrochip based immunoassay platform for rapid and accurate melamine quantification in urine samples
topic melamine detection
SpectroChip
spectral processing unit (SPU)
point-of-care (POC)
lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA)
liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS)
url https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6304/12/12/870
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