Can LC and LC-MS ever replace immunoassays?

Abstract

This review is not intended as a summary of research and development of immunoassays and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry but rather as a brief summary of the pros and cons of each technology applied to the quantitative measurement of biomolecules primarily in biofluids. The ability to detect and quantitate biomolecules revolutionised science in the twentieth century and continues to this day. It allows scientists, for example, to conduct research to find and validate biomarkers, but has found its most prominent role in diagnostic applications where it is used to monitor the presence and levels of biomolecules in human samples for the diagnosis and monitoring of disease, in food and beverages to ensure food safety and authenticity and in the environment to monitor the presence and levels of contaminants of ground, waste and drinking water. The growth in personalised or precision medicine will be accompanied by an increased need to detect and quantify panels of biomolecules as biomarkers, as well as a range of drugs taken as treatment or as a measure to delay or prevent onset of disease, following the paradigm of the right drug for the right patient at the right time and importantly at the right dose. Increased health and safety regulations demand more testing of food and beverage and environmental samples. With increasing need for biomolecule detection and quantitation comes the demand for high-throughput, lower cost per sample analysis and more accurate results. Traditionally, immunoassays have been the technology of choice for the detection and quantitation of biomolecules. However, over the past two decades alternative technologies have been shown to offer a complementary role to immunoassays. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) is one such technology and for some applications has been shown to offer a powerful alternative to immunoassays. With the increasing demands for routine biomolecule quantitation coming from a broad range of fields, are immunoassays the best solution to keep pace with the increased throughput needed, demand for lower cost per sample and improved accuracy JOURNAL OF APPLIED BIOANALYSIS, October 2016, p. 108-116. http://dx.doi.org/10.17145/jab.16.015 (ISSN 2405-710X) Vol. 2, No. 4