Patent Trend Analysis of Magnetic-Fluorescent Composites for Immunoassay

Abstract

Immunoassay is a protein-based in vitro diagnostic method using the antigen-antibody immune response of an analyte. Immunoassay is widely used in point-of-care testing in the form of an assay kit for detecting diseases and biochemicals inexpensively and quickly in addition to hospitals and laboratories. Recently, immunoassay devices using a fluorescence analyzer have been developed and distributed to increase detection sensitivity and enable signal quantification. Besides, a technology to further increase the sensitivity by concentrating a low-concentration analyte using magnetic nanoparticles is being developed. In this paper, the patent trend of the magnetic-fluorescent composite technology is investigated and analyzed. Three hundred thirty-four patents filed in Korea, the United States, Europe, Japan, and China were analyzed for fluorescent particles, magnetic particles, and lateral flow strip sensors used in immunoassay. The number of applications is large in the order of China, Japan, the United States, Korea, and Europe, and has been increasing rapidly in the 2010s. Technologies relating to fluorescent particles used for immunoassay are actively progressing, and applications for magnetic-fluorescent composites are increasing in recent years. China is actively developing magnetic-fluorescent composites and strip sensor applications. In Korea, the United States, Europe, and Japan, applications were evenly filed for all fields of particles for immunoassay. For strip sensors, patent applications for the device and analysis method can be found.