Paper biosensors for detecting elevated IL-6 levels in blood and respiratory samples from COVID-19 patients

Decentralizing COVID-19 care reduces contagions and affords a better use of hospital resources. We introduce biosensors aimed at detecting severe cases of COVID-19 in decentralized healthcare settings. They consist of a paper immunosensor interfaced with a smartphone. The immunosensors have been designed to generate intense colorimetric signals when the sample contains ultralow concentrations of IL-6, which has been proposed as a prognosis biomarker of COVID-19. This is achieved by combining a paper-based signal amplification mechanism with polymer-filled reservoirs for dispensing antibody-decorated nanoparticles and a bespoken app for color quantification. With this design we achieved a low limit of detection (LOD) of 10(-3) pg mL(-1) and semi-quantitative measurements in a wide dynamic range between 10(-3) and 10(2) pg mL(-1) in PBS. The assay time is under 10 min. The low LOD allowed us to dilute blood samples and detect IL-6 with an LOD of 1.3 pg mL(-1) and a dynamic range up to 10(2) pg mL(-1). Following this protocol, we were able to stratify COVID-19 patients according to different blood levels of IL-6. We also report on the detection of IL-6 in respiratory samples (bronchial aspirate, BAS) from COVID-19 patients. The test could be easily adapted to detect other cytokines such as TNF-alpha and IL-8 by changing the antibodies decorating the nanoparticles accordingly. The ability of detecting cytokines in blood and respiratory samples paves the way for monitoring local inflammation in the lungs as well as systemic inflammation levels in the body.

Automated summary

Decentralizing COVID-19 care through the use of biosensors for detecting severe cases in decentralized healthcare settings allows for low limit of detection and semi-quantitative measurements of IL-6 in blood and respiratory samples. This enables stratification of COVID-19 patients based on IL-6 levels and potential adaptation for detecting other cytokines.