Amplification of Proteins in Body Fluids for Early Detection of Biological Warfare Exposure

This SBIR Phase I project will lead to the development of a technology to detect very low levels of multiple pathogen-specific proteins or human proteins very quickly after exposure to biological warfare (BW) agents. The technology will link several proven techniques in a unique sequence so that a mixture of biological warfare proteins can be accurately and sensitively detected in one simple procedure. First, we will generate high affinity rabbit monoclonal antibody (RabMAb) pairs for specific biomarkers, using our proprietary rabbit hybridoma technology. Second, we will develop a sensitive, multiplexed assay system that combines antibody binding, T7 RNA polymerase amplification and DNA array detection. Our technology will eliminate the requirement of sophisticated proteomic instruments, radioactive labeling and large scale automation, yet will possess the potential to detect hundreds of low level proteins in a simple assay. We have named the novel protein detection technology Multiplexed Quantification Using Antibodies and T7-amplification, or MultiQUANT. In Phase I, we will generate RabMAb pairs for 3 BW biomarkers. Concomitantly, we will validate MultiQUANT technology using anti-fibronectin RabMAb pairs that we already have in our possession. In Phase II, we will develop the MultiQUANT system for several dozen BW biomarkers.