Development of a colloidal gold strip assay for the detection of total homocysteine in serum samples

Homocysteine (Hcy) is an amino acid found in the human body and has the potential to predict cardiovascular risk where timely detection and treatment are very important. In this study, we established a method to combine enzymatic hydrolysis with a colloidal gold lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) for the detection of total Hcy (tHcy) based on the monoclonal antibody (mAb) 3B3 against S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine (SAH). The 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) for this mAb against SAH was 2.94 nM with a linear range of 0.73–11.75 nM. The developed LFIA could detect SAH with a vLOD and cLOD of 10 nM and 2.07 nM, respectively. For tHcy detection in serum samples, the LFIA strip was able to detect tHcy after enzymatic hydrolysis, and the results correlated well with that of an enzymatic cycling test kit.