DEVELOPING AND ASSESSING AN IMMUNOCHROMATOGRAPHIC STRIP FOR DETECTING OSTEOARTHRITIS BASED ON URINE CARTILAGE OLIGOMERIC MATRIX PROTEINS

Abstract

An immunochromatographic strip was developed using a gold nanoparticle-conjugated monoclonal antibody to detect cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) in human urine. The monoclonal antibody anti-hCOMP produced from the hybridoma cell clone, hCOMP, is specific to osteoarthritis (OA), and polycolonal antibodies against COMP proteins were conjugated using a gold nanoparticle (approximately 40 nm) to enable detection. The preliminary test results of the proposed biomarker-prepared strip showed a positive correlation with those obtained using Western-blot assay to urinal COMP and exhibited a reliable detection range from 50 to 400 ng. The visual detection limit of the prepared test strip was 50 ng. The test results of OA patients showed consistent diagnostic agreement compared with clinical X-ray radiography. Thus, based on the detection of COMP from urine, the proposed immunoassay method is suitable for screening and noninvasively diagnosing OA.