SERS-based lateral flow immunoassay strip for ultrasensitive and quantitative detection of acrosomal protein SP10

• A POCT device composed of SERS-based LFA was developed for ultrasensitive and quantitative detection of SP10. • Gold-silver core–shell nanorod optical enhanced substrate possessed extremely Raman signal amplification of SERS nanotag. • The strip received high sensitivity with the LOD for SP10 of 25.12 fg mL −1 and the wider LDR ranged from 100 fg mL −1 to 10 ng mL −1 . • This device can be used to diagnosis male reproductive and provides guidance to the fertility planning of age-appropriate couples. Ultrasensitive and quantitative detection of acrosomal protein SP10 is of great significance in diagnosis of male infertility. Herein, a novel point of care testing (POCT) device composed of surface enhanced Raman scattering-based lateral flow immunoassay strip (SERS-LFA) was first developed for ultrasensitive and quantitative detection of SP10. In the design, the SP10 could be authenticated by gold-silver core–shell nanorod SERS nanotags, and the as-proposed device employed the LFA as a carrier. It is found that the POCT device exhibited excellent properties for the SP10 detection with a good linearity in the range of 100 fg mL −1 to 10 ng mL −1 , and detection limit of 25.12 fg mL −1 , which corresponds to several hundred sperm per milliliter. We anticipate this device will be widely used in the field of male reproductive diagnosis and provide guidance to the fertility planning of age-appropriate couples.