TOPPAN Establishes Method of Quantifying Simple Qualitative Test Results through Digital Image Color Management Techniques
08 March 2024: TOPPAN Inc. (TOPPAN), a TOPPAN Group company and wholly owned subsidiary of TOPPAN Holdings Inc. has developed a method that harnesses color management techniques to quantify the results of simple immunochromatography1 testing data converted into digital imagery. Using this method, it is now possible to digitize and quantify the number of extracellular vesicles (exosomes) detected using Exorapid-qIC™, the world’s first commercial immunochromatography kit for exosome detection, which was developed by Dai Nippon Toryo Co., Ltd.
TOPPAN harnessed its color management techniques to standardize display colors to create a method that quantifies data gathered through immunochromatography. By expanding the scope of what this technique can target from not only exosomes but also to various viruses and proteins, TOPPAN has made it possible to expand the use of immunochromatography into new areas and increase its value, also potentially helping increase the efficiency of academic research into exosomes and contributing to the development of diagnostic pharmacology and preventive medicine.
Background
Cancer (malignant neoplasms) continues to be the leading cause of death in Japan, and in recent years, greater importance has been placed on cancer prevention as well as on early diagnosis and treatment. It has been discovered that exosomes, a type of extracellular vesicle generated and released by human cells, contain information about the cells from which they originate, and that they are present in blood, urine and many other body fluids. There are now high expectations for the development of simple testing technologies that detect exosomes in body fluids to support early diagnosis of cancer, dementia and other diseases.
In addressing this, TOPPAN has applied its liquid biopsy3 exosome detection method to develop and patent an exosome detection technology using immunochromatography, and provided DNT with a license to use this technology in the design, development, fabrication, and sale of testing and reagent kits for experiments and research into exosomes. DNT used this technology to develop its Exorapid-qIC™ Immunochromatography Kit for Extracellular Vesicles and it began selling the kit for use in research on July 25, 2023.
Immunochromatography is widely used in diagnostic virus testing for COVID-19 and influenza, but it is rarely used in quantitative testing due to the difficulty in digitizing and quantifying the amount of virus present.
To address this issue, TOPPAN has harnessed the color management techniques it has cultivated in the printing business over the years to develop CAM-FIT®,4 a technology that adjusts the colors of images taken with cameras to provide consistent colors across different displays, printers, printed matter, and other devices and material. This makes it possible to adjust photographic data such that the colors are displayed correctly independent of initial lighting conditions and imaging equipment. Using this technique, it is now possible to digitize immunochromatography detection data without depending on the lighting conditions or cameras used when obtaining the data. In collaboration with DNT, TOPPAN has confirmed that this technique can be used to digitize and quantify data obtained through exosome immunochromatography.
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