Silver-assembled silica nanoparticles in lateral flow immunoassay for visual inspection of prostate-specific antigen

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is the best-known biomarker for early diagnosis of prostate cancer. For prostate cancer in particular, the threshold level of PSA <4.0 ng/mL in clinical samples is an important indicator. Quick and easy visual detection of the PSA level greatly helps in early detection and treatment of prostate cancer and reducing mortality. In this study, we developed optimized silica-coated silver-assembled silica nanoparticles (SiO₂ @Ag@SiO₂ NPs) that were applied to a visual lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) platform for PSA detection. During synthesis, the ratio of silica NPs to silver nitrate changed, and as the synthesized NPs exhibited distinct UV spectra and colors, most optimized SiO₂ @Ag@SiO₂ NPs showed the potential for early prostate cancer diagnosis. The PSA detection limit of our LFIA platform was 1.1 ng/mL. By applying each SiO₂ @Ag@SiO₂ NP to the visual LFIA platform, optimized SiO₂ @Ag@SiO₂ NPs were selected in the test strip, and clinical samples from prostate cancer patients were successfully detected as the boundaries of non-specific binding were clearly seen and the level of PSA was <4 ng/mL, thus providing an avenue for quick prostate cancer diagnosis and early treatment.