A low budget luminometer for sensitive chemiluminescent immunoassays

Porakishvili, Nino, Fordham, John L. A., Charrel-Dennis, Marie, Delves, Peter J., Lund, Torben and Roitt, Ivan (2000) A low budget luminometer for sensitive chemiluminescent immunoassays. Journal of Immunological Methods, 234 (1-2) . pp. 35-42. ISSN 0022-1759 [Article] (doi:10.1016/S0022-1759(99)00198-2)

Abstract

We have designed a simple luminometer based on a reasonably priced Peltier-cooled charge-coupled device (CCD) camera, housed in a light-tight box, with straightforward lens imaging and a simple platform for a microtitre or other assay format. The quantitative readout of the CCD image is recorded on a PC using customised software. The instrument can be assembled in a standard university workshop for under £3000, compared with the cheapest commercial instruments retailing at £10,000 and above. Consistent with the general view on chemiluminescent assays, the sensitivity is 10–100 times greater than that obtained with parallel ELISA's using a chromogenic substrate. A unique feature of the CCD format is that it enables assays to be carried out on arrays of minidots and even nanodots of antigen on the floor of each microtitre well. This permits direct comparison and standardisation of reactivity of a single sample against several antigens and economy in the use of reagents, test sample and technician time; finger-prick samples of blood can be analysed. The instrument should have widespread applicability in developing countries and, indeed, in any laboratories with hard-pressed budgets.

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