Microalbuminuria can be detected using urine protein test strips. However, this approach can only be used for qualitative analysis. Moreover, despite the high accuracy of commercial instruments for the clinical detection albumin, these devices is not suitable to be used for home detection due to their bulky size and additional labeling steps. Therefore, our study sought to develop a label-free method by three types of miniaturized detector devices (MDDs) for the detection of HSA and BSA. Using flip-chip (FC) ultraviolet-C (UV–C) light-emitting diodes (FC UVC LEDs) as a light source. The most accurate of the five tested MDDs consisted of a FC UVC LED light source, a holder, and a quartz lenses (QL₁) with a light divergence angle of 16°. When detecting human serum albumin (HSA) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) at concentrations ranging from 0.01 to 4mg/mL, the coefficients of determination (R²) of absorbance and concentration at 279nm were 0.9850 and 0.9870, respectively. The FC UVC LED MDD designed herein was not only cost-effective but also had a small footprint and is therefore highly portable. The proposed approach for the quantitative detection of HSA and BSA is useful for early kidney disease screening.

(2024) Published by SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Chia Chun Hu, Po Hsiang Tsai, Shen Fu Tseng, Nan Chun Wu, and Zhi Ting Ye, "Flip-chip UVC LEDs as a light source to detect human serum albumin and bovine serum albumin," Proc. SPIE 13115, UV and Higher Energy Photonics: From Materials to Applications 2024, 1311502 (Presented at Nanoscience + Engineering: August 18, 2024; Published: 4 October 2024); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3029185.