Background: The analysis of nasal fluid biomarkers is gaining traction as a valuable method for studying respiratory diseases, monitoring therapeutic responses, and identifying new drug targets. However, variability in biomarker results is often due to non-standardized collection techniques. To address this, we developed a novel nasal liquid biopsy device designed to enhance volumetric accuracy, ensure site-specific collection, and improve analyte recovery for biobanking applications.
Methods: We evaluated the device's performance by depositing fixed volumes of a nasal mimic solution (Biochemazone) onto proprietary nasal in-vitro models. We compared the device's volumetric accuracy and site-specific collection precision against a standard flocked swab (Copan). Additionally, ELISA assays were used to assess the cytokine recovery of the device's absorption membrane, "Leukosorb" (Cytiva); comparisons were also made to proprietary membrane materials.
Results: The novel device demonstrated a statistically significant lower coefficient of variation in collected nasal fluid volumes compared to the swab (P<0.05). It also exhibited superior precision in site-specific sample collection. The spike and recovery studies revealed cytokines are differentially recovered, with Leukosorb membrane achieving a recovery rate ranging from 20%-80%. The proprietary materials had statistically higher recovery of some cytokines ranging from 50%-150%.
Conclusions: This innovative nasal microsampler provides enhanced volume control and site-specificity compared to traditional flocked swabs, making it a promising tool for biobanking applications. While all tested membranes demonstrated satisfactory protein recovery, further investigation is required to confirm the safety of the experimental membranes before in-vivo use.