Extracellular HMGB1 protein is known to induce inflammatory responses leading to an inflammatory storm. The outbreak of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome COVID-19 due to the SARS-CoV-2 virus has resulted in a huge health concern worldwide. Recent data revealed that plasma/serum HMGB1 levels of patients suffering from inflammation-mediated disorders-such as COVID-19, cancer, and autoimmune disorders-correlate positively with disease severity and vice versa. A late release of HMGB1 in sepsis suggests the existence of a wide therapeutic window for treating sepsis. Rapid and accurate methods for the detection of HMGB1 levels in plasma/serum are, therefore, of great importance for monitoring the occurrence, treatment success, and survival prediction of patients with inflammation-mediated diseases. In this review, we briefly explain the role of HMGB1 in the cell, and particularly the involvement of extracellular HMGB1 (released from the cells) in inflammation-mediated diseases, with an emphasis on COVID-19. The current assays to measure HMGB1 levels in human plasma-Western blotting, ELISA, EMSA, and a new approach based on electrochemical immunosensors, including some of our preliminary results-are presented and thoroughly discussed.

• Keywords
• COVID-19, ELISA, EMSA, HMGB1, immunosensor, plasma/serum,
• MeSH
• Biosensing Techniques MeSH
• COVID-19 * blood   diagnosis   MeSH
• Immunoassay MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Prognosis MeSH
• HMGB1 Protein * blood   MeSH
• SARS-CoV-2 MeSH
• Sepsis * MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Review MeSH
• Names of Substances
• HMGB1 protein, human MeSH Browser
• HMGB1 Protein * MeSH

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) was examined as a novel method for readout of microtiter plate immunoassays involving nanoparticles (NP). The so-called Tag-LIBS technique is a sensitive method for the detection of specific biomarkers. It was applied to the determination of NP labels using nanosecond ablation sampling. The NP labels were examined from the bottom of a standard 96-well microtiter plate. Thanks to the flexibility of LIBS instrumentation, both the plasma emission collection and the focusing optics arrangements can be collinearly arranged. The experiments showed that silver NPs and gold NPs can be readily quantified on the bottom of the microtiter plate. Utilizing this technique, a sandwich immunoassay for human serum albumin using streptavidin-coated AgNP labels was developed. The assay has a 10 ng·mL-1 detection limit which is comparable to the sensitivity of fluorometric readout. The main advantage of this LIBS technique is its wide scope in which it enables a detection of almost any type of NP labels, irrespective to any fluorescence or catalytic properties. Owing to the immediate signal response, the relatively simple instrumentation also enables assay automation. The LIBS capability of multi-elemental analyses makes it a promising and fast alternative to other readout techniques, in particular with respect to multiplexed detection of biomarkers. Graphical abstract Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is used as a novel readout method of nanoparticle-based immunoassays in microtiter plates. After formation of sandwich immunocomplex, the analyte concentration is quantified as the signal of Ag nanoparticle labels determined by LIBS.

• Keywords
• Collinear plasma collection, Gold nanoparticles, Laser ablation, Microtiter plate, Sandwich immunoassay, Silver nanoparticles, Streptavidin, Tag-LIBS,
• MeSH
• Biomarkers blood   MeSH
• Immunoassay methods   MeSH
• Metal Nanoparticles chemistry   MeSH
• Lasers * MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Serum Albumin, Human analysis   MeSH
• Surface Properties MeSH
• Silver chemistry   MeSH
• Particle Size MeSH
• Gold chemistry   MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Biomarkers MeSH
• Serum Albumin, Human MeSH
• Silver MeSH
• Gold MeSH

This review (with 129 refs) summarizes the progress in electrochemical immunoassays combined with magnetic particles that was made in the past 5 years. The specifity of antibodies linked to electrochemical transduction (by amperometry, voltammetry, impedimetry or electrochemiluminescence) gains further attractive features by introducing magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs). This enables fairly easy preconcentration of analytes, minimizes matrix effects, and introduces an appropriate label. Following an introduction into the fundamentals of electrochemical immunoassays and on nanomaterials for respective uses, a large chapter addresses method for magnetic capture and preconcentration of analytes. A next chapter discusses commonly used labels such as dots, enzymes, metal and metal oxide nanoparticles and combined clusters. The large field of hybrid nanomaterials for use in such immunoassays is discussed next, with a focus on MNPs composites with various kinds of graphene variants, polydopamine, noble metal nanoparticles or nanotubes. Typical applications address clinical markers (mainly blood and urine parameters), diagnosis of cancer (markers and cells), detection of pathogens (with subsections on viruses and bacteria), and environmental and food contaminants as toxic agents and pesticides. A concluding section summarizes the present status, current challenges, and highlights future trends. Graphical abstract Magnetic nanoparticles (MNP) with antibodies (Ab) capture and preconcentrate analyte from sample (a) and afterwards become magnetically (b) or immunospecifically (c) bound at an electrode. Signal either increases due to the presence of alabel (b) or decreases as the redox probe is blocked (c).

• Keywords
• Bioconjugation, Immunosensor, Preconcentration, Screen printed electrodes,
• MeSH
• Electrochemistry methods   MeSH
• Immunoassay methods   MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Magnets chemistry   MeSH
• Nanoparticles chemistry   MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Review MeSH