Recent research trends in fluorescent reporters‐based lateral flow immunoassay for protein biomarkers specific to acute myocardial infarction

A rapid and sensitive method is urgently required for the detection of acute myocardial infarction (AMI), a major cause of death globally. As a user‐friendly diagnostic platform, the lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) has been considered as a rapid and low‐cost tool for point‐of‐care testing. Among the available LFIAs, fluorescent nanoparticles have been widely used as reporters to improve the sensitivity of detection targets. This review describes the basic principle of fluorescence‐based LFIA and various fluorescent nanoparticles used as a signal readout. Recently, various studies on fluorescent reporters‐based LFIAs for diagnosing potential AMI have been outlined by determining the level of AMI‐specific protein biomarkers, including cardiac troponins I and T, heart‐type fatty acid‐binding protein, myoglobin, brain natriuretic peptide, suppression of tumorigenicity 2, creatine kinase‐MB, and C‐reactive protein. The challenges of the used fluorescent reporters in LFIA are discussed to achieve affordable and excellent performances for clinical applications. This review highlights the recent progress of fluorescent reporters‐based lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) platforms for analyzing protein biomarker concentrations specific to acute myocardial infarction in human biological fluids. Challenges in discovering reliable acute myocardial infarction biomarkers, robust fluorescent reporters, and new designs of LFIA to meet a clinical application are also discussed.