Lactoferrin determination using flow or batch immunosensor surface plasmon resonance: Comparison with amperometric and screen-printed immunosensor methods

In mammalian secretions, such as milk, lactoferrin is an important iron-binding glycoprotein, present in large quantities; it is also contained in powdered milks for babies sold in drugstores. Our team tested the feasibility of constructing a new immunosensor for lactoferrin analysis based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR) using two different devices and operating in batch or flow mode. The new method proposed is not competitive but "direct" and has the advantage of halving the measurement time which was deemed to be too long as is often the case in previous research when competitive immunological methods were used. Lastly, detailed comparison was made of the analytical features of new devices with those of classical or screen-printed immunosensor methods and the advantages and disadvantages of the new SPR method investigated. Lastly several applications and comparisons were carried out on cow and goat milk and on different types of dried milk for babies. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.