Lateral flow immunoassay using plasmonic scattering

Bobin Lee, Byungho Park, Daeun Kim, Chaewon Jung, Jun Hyeok Park, Ji-Ho Park, Young Eun Lee, Myung Geun Shin, Min-Gon Kim, Nan Ei Yu, Joon Heon Kim and Kihyeun Kim ()
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Bobin Lee: Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST)
Byungho Park: Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST)
Daeun Kim: Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST)
Chaewon Jung: Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST)
Jun Hyeok Park: Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST)
Ji-Ho Park: Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST)
Young Eun Lee: Chonnam National University Medical School and Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital
Myung Geun Shin: Chonnam National University Medical School and Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital
Min-Gon Kim: Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST)
Nan Ei Yu: Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST)
Joon Heon Kim: Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST)
Kihyeun Kim: Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST)

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract The lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) is one of the most successful sensing platforms for real-world point-of-care (POC) testing. However, achieving PCR-level sensitivity without compromising the inherent advantages of LFIA, such as rapid and robust operation, affordability, and naked-eye detection, has remained a primary challenge. In this study, a plasmonic scattering-utilising LFIA was proposed, created by transparentising a nitrocellulose membrane and placing a light-absorbing backing card under the membrane. This LFIA minimised the background signal from its matrix, leading to substantially enhanced sensitivity and enabling naked-eye detection of the plasmonic scattering signal from gold nanoparticles without optics. Our plasmonic scattering-utilising LFIA showed an approximately 2600–4400 times higher detection limit compared with that of commercial LFIAs in influenza A assays. In addition, it exhibited 90% sensitivity in clinical validation, approaching PCR-level sensitivity, while commercial LFIAs showed 23–30% sensitivity. The plasmonic scattering-utilising LFIA plays a ground-breaking role in POC diagnostics and significantly boosts follow-up research.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-58663-z

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