Abstract
A rapid fluorescence immunochromatographic assay (FIA) was developed and verified for the determination of serum vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) bound to specific quantum dot microspheres within 15 min. The assay is based on the fluorescence intensity being directly proportional to the VEGF content in serum samples. The detection range was from 25 to 1,600 pg/mL, the correlation coefficient of the standard curve was greater than 0.999, and the coefficient of variation was less than 10%. The reaction recovery met the analytical requirements, and VEGF did not cross-react with eight other growth factor analogs. The application of this method to sera collected from patients with and without tumors (n = 100 each) revealed significantly different VEGF levels. The FIA offered results more rapidly than any traditional immunoassays with appropriate accuracy and specificity. This approach is clinically practical for the emergency or bedside detection of serum VEGF, and has excellent prospects for cancer screening, diagnosis, and the evaluation and monitoring of the effects of tumor angiogenesis therapy.