Effects of lyophilization and storage temperature on Wuchereria bancrofti antigen sensitivity and stability

摘要

ObjectiveAntigen-based rapid diagnostic tests for Lymphatic filariasis (LF) do not come with external quality control (QC) materials, and research and disease control programmes rely on stored positive samples. This study was undertaken to evaluate the use of lyophilized Wuchereria bancrofti antigen positive plasma samples to serve as QC materials for LF diagnostic tests. 10 well characterized W. bancrofti positive samples were lyophilized and stored at 4, 28 and 40 °C. The samples were evaluated using the Alere Filariasis Test Strips before lyophilization, and after 1 and 3 months of storage. The sensitivity and stability of the lyophilized samples were evaluated.