Preliminary Exploration of Paper-based ELISA with Recombinant Thioredoxin Peroxidase-1 for Detection of Human Schistosomiasis.

PURPOSE: This study addresses these limitations by evaluating a field-deployable diagnostic alternative, a paper-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) incorporating recombinant thioredoxin peroxidase-1 (rSjTPx-1).

METHODS AND

RESULTS

The study focused on optimizing the antigen concentration and serum dilution parameters to enhance assay performance. Subsequently, the diagnostic utility of the optimized rSjTPx-1 paper-based ELISA was evaluated using archived serum samples from individuals in a schistosomiasis-endemic region of the Philippines. These samples had been previously classified using the conventional rSjTPx-1 ELISA as seronegative (n = 3), seropositive with low optical density (OD) values (n = 3), and seropositive with high OD values (n = 3). Compared to the conventional rSjTPx-1-ELISA, the paper-based format demonstrated a sensitivity of 83%, specificity of 100%, and a kappa value of 0.769, indicating substantial agreement.

CONCLUSION

Although slightly less sensitive than the conventional rSjTPx-1-ELISA, the paper-based format offers significant advantages in terms of portability, ease of use, and suitability for resource-limited settings. These results suggest that the rSjTPx-1 paper-based ELISA could be an accessible diagnostic tool for S. japonicum in endemic regions.