Point of Care Detection of Oral Pathogens

DESCRIPTION provided by applicant There are many pathogenic organisms that cause disease in the oral cavity or that can be detected there Among these are three important viruses human immunodeficiency virus HIV human papilloma virus HPV and herpes simplex virus HSV HIV infection and disease is treatable but is costly and is still associated with considerable morbidity and mortality HPV is the primary cause of oropharyngeal cancer and HSV causes common oral lesions All of these pathogens can be spread by contact with saliva This is not a common route of transmission for HIV but it is nevertheless a concern since HIV causes AIDS which is a fatal disease It would therefore be desirable to have a simple cost effective point of care POC device for the detection of infection by HIV HPV and HSV We propose to use a protein microarray to detect HIV by antigen capture and to detect antibodies to each virus based on binding to viral proteins in the microarray Antigen Discovery Incorporated ADi has considerable experience in the development production and marketing of protein microarrays We now sell seventeen reactive protein antigen microarrays from a variety of pathogenic viruses bacteria and protozoa including an HIV array with proteins from the five most common subtypes Moreover ADi has already isolated all the genes from eleven serotypes of HPV HSV types and and inserted them into an expression vector for production of proteins In order to develop a useful POC device for the detection of HIV as well as antibodies against HIV HPV and HSV in saliva we have the following specific aims for the first phase of this project Create a proteomic microarray containing all proteins from all common types of HIV HPV and HSV Later we will expand the microarray to include other oral pathogens Develop a protocol for sensitive and specific screening for antibodies to oral pathogens in saliva using a proteomic microarray In Phase II a microfluidic device will be developed to automate the assay procedure Develop a sensitive and specific microarray based antigen capture detection assay for HIV In Phase II similar assays will be developed for HPV HSV and other oral pathogens and the assay procedure will be automated using a microfluidic device PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE This project will create a prototype point of care device for detection of HIV and antibodies against HIV HPV and HSV in saliva We will develop a simple protocol for use of the device that will ensure sensitive specific detection of oral pathogens and antibodies against them in saliva