SERS-based lateral flow immunoassay strip for ultrasensitive and quantitative detection of acrosomal protein SP10

Ultrasensitive and quantitative detection of acrosomal protein SP10 is of great significance in diagnosis of male infertility. Herein, a novel point of care testing (POCT) device composed of surface enhanced Raman scattering-based lateral flow immunoassay strip (SERS-LFA) was first developed for ultrasensitive and quantitative detection of SP10. In the design, the SP10 could be authenticated by gold-silver core–shell nanorod SERS nanotags, and the as-proposed device employed the LFA as a carrier. It is found that the POCT device exhibited excellent properties for the SP10 detection with a good linearity in the range of 100 fg mL⁻¹ to 10 ng mL⁻¹, and detection limit of 25.12 fg mL⁻¹, which corresponds to several hundred sperm per milliliter. We anticipate this device will be widely used in the field of male reproductive diagnosis and provide guidance to the fertility planning of age-appropriate couples.