Table 2.
Key specifications of future high-performance lateral flow assays (LFA).
| High-performance visual lateral flow | High-performance fluorescent lateral flow | Nucleic acid lateral flow | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detection principle | High-performance colored nanoparticles (incl. covalent gold; gold nanoshells; cellulose nanobeads) | Europium-chelate latex; fluorescent dye latex; quantum dots | Visual nanoparticles including colloidal gold; colored latex; cellulose nanobeads |
| Interpretation | Visual or reader | Reader-based only | Visual or reader |
| Quantitative | Yes, possible | Yes, possible | No |
| Sample | All types | All types | Amplification products only |
| Sample processing | Application dependent | Application dependent | Required |
| Sensitivity | μM; nM; high pM | nM; pM, fM | N/A, amplification step dependent |
| Assay time | 5–30 min test time | 5–30 min test time | Amplifying reaction time + 5–10 min LFA time |
| Multiplexing | Yes; 4–8 per test strip | Yes; 4–8 per test strip | Yes; limited by available primer tags |