Advances in Human Chorionic Gonadotropin Detection Technologies: A Review

Abstract

Human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) is a glycoprotein secreted by placental trophoblast cells in pregnancy. HCG is a heterodimer composed of two different α- and β-subunits, with the latter being unique to HCG. As well as being the most important diagnostic markers for pregnancy, HCG is also a tumor marker, therefore, quantitative detection of HCG is of great value. Numerous advanced technologies have been developed for HCG concentration detection including electrochemical immunoassay, chemiluminescent immunoassay, fluorescence immunoassay, resonance scattering spectrometry, atomic emission spectrometry, radioimmunoassay, MS and so on. Some have pursued simple and easy operation, while others have emphasized on accuracy and applications in clinical medicine. This review provides a comprehensive summary of various methods of detecting HCG.

Keywords::

• bioanalysis
• biosensors
• HCG detection
• human chorionic gonadotropin
• immunoassay

Financial & competing interests disclosure

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 21375116), a project funded by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, and Jiangsu Province research program on analytical methods and techniques on the shared platform of large-scale instruments and equipment (BZ 201409). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Acknowledgements

Results of STEM and XPS in the experiment were provided by the Test Center of Yangzhou University.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 21375116), a project funded by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, and Jiangsu Province research program on analytical methods and techniques on the shared platform of large-scale instruments and equipment (BZ 201409). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.