Lateral Flow Assay Development

Lateral Flow Assay Development

Whether customers are looking to convert an existing ELISA assay into a lateral flow device (LFD), or are looking to apply a reagent to an LFD, Abingdon Health uses a comprehensive step-by-step quality-driven approach to lateral flow development.

Our experience in lateral flow diagnostics means we are able to develop assays for different sample matrices including saliva, serum, plasma, blood, urine, milk, plant material and much more.

Concept and planning phase

Discussions will be held concerning the market requirements, product specifications, component supply and regulatory considerations. The output of these discussions will result in the completion of a product development plan which will incorporate all the phases required to take the product through to manufacture and then commercial launch. If we are also developing a lateral flow reader for you, we will have these discussions in parallel.

Assay feasibility and optimisation

A number of different parameters will be evaluated during this first experimental stage of assay development. Abingdon Health will prepare a series of prototypes to be assessed against development goals at the end of these extensive studies.

The formulations, materials and processes used to make the working prototypes will then be optimised to ensure reproducibility. For example, the optimal quantity of capture antibody will be determined.

Following client approval of the final lateral flow assay design and specification, the assay is classed as having reached design freeze and no further modifications are made.

Reagent Sourcing

Abingdon Health can carry out a full search for commercially available reagents in order to fulfil rapid test development. To ensure selection of the most appropriate reagents we consider quality, exclusivity and guaranteed supply when talking with suppliers.

Sometimes reagents are not commercially available or sometimes clients prefer to have their own reagents. Therefore, we can help with antibody and antigen generation and the growth and maintenance of cell lines.

Read more about our reagents selection process to see how we can help.

List of Assay Reagents

Abingdon Health has access to an extensive list of assay reagents which are available exclusively to customers wishing to develop and manufacture lateral flow rapid tests with Abingdon Health.

Visit our lateral flow assay reagents page for more information.

Multiplexed Lateral Flow Assays

At Abingdon Health we offer the development and manufacture of both single target assays and multiplexed assays. In addition, we offer a quantitative multiplexed option by incorporating our CE marked and FDA registered reader technology.

Our approach to developing multiplexed lateral flow assays follows the same process of planning, feasibility and optimisation as documented above.

Contact us to learn more about multiplexed lateral flow assay development.

Sample Types for Lateral Flow

Depending on the target in question or market requirements will depend on which sample type needs to be used to detect a target analyte.

Lateral flow devices are versatile enough to be developed to detect target analytes in sample matrices including:

• Milk
• Whole blood
• Serum
• Saliva
• Urine
• Tissue samples
• Food
• Drink
• Animal feed
• Plant material
• Water
• Fuel

Contact us to learn more about how we can help develop an assay to work with one of the sample types above.

Label types and conjugation

Typically, lateral flow assays utilise conjugated colloidal gold, carbon, or coloured latex nanoparticles within the conjugate pad. Other labels include magnetic or fluorescent beads.

Labels will be chosen during lateral flow assay development depending on several factors such as the target, sample matrix and antibody. The optimisation of the assay will ensure the label interacts correctly with the antibody and antigen to ensure efficiency and accuracy of results.

In order to maximise the efficient use of labels in assays, we work with a number of suppliers, and we have also partnered with Innova Biosciences (now known as Expedeon), who have many years experience of in this area.

The area of label conjugation has grown over recent years. We explore the options available in our article entitled, ‘lateral flow assay labelling and conjugation‘.

Lateral flow manufacturing

Following a successful lateral flow test development project, design freeze is reached and the prototype is then transferred from Research and Development through to routine manufacturing.

At this point, our technical transfer team, with involvement from key members of our production team, will typically manufacture 3 batches of the product using high volume automated reel-to-reel machines. This stage is important for validating and verifying the performance of the assay following scale-up.

To learn more about our manufacturing capabilities please visit our lateral flow manufacturing page.

Proven Technology

Lateral flow immunoassays have enabled testing to move from the laboratory to the point of contact. Providing results in minutes, these rapid tests are straightforward to use and have found wide application.

Lateral flow devices (LFDs) use immunoassay technology via a combination of antibodies (or other binding moieties such as aptamers and affirmers), nitrocellulose membranes and coloured nanoparticles in order to produce qualitative (visual) results or quantitative results in combination with reader technology.

Read how we combine lateral flow assay and reader technology in order to produce quantitative tests.

To learn more about our lateral flow assay development and manufacturing services, there are a number of case studies about some of the projects undertaken by Abingdon Health over the years.

Visit our Complete Integrated Solutions page to read these case studies.

What to expect as an Abingdon Health customer?

Abingdon Health is dedicated to providing high levels of customer service. But, our services are not just services; we see working with our clients as a partnership.

We understand that you are experts in your industry, and we understand what is required for developing and manufacturing LFAs for different markets. We, therefore, ensure our combined experience and expertise is utilised fully to achieve the best possible outcome for your assay.

Also, we understand that every lateral flow assay design project is different and market goals vary. Learn more about our personalised service to our customers.