DETECTION OF PASSIVE SMOKING BY A NOVEL ELISA FOR COTININE

TOBACCO SMOKE CONTINUES TO BE CITED AS THE CAUSATIVE AGENT IN A WIDE NUMBER OF HUMAN DISEASES AND PATHOLOGIES. THE DANGERS FROM TOBACCO SMOKE HAVE BEEN EXTENDED TO INCLUDE HEALTH PROBLEMS DERIVED FROM THE PASSIVE INHALATION OF TOBACCO SMOKE BY NONSMOKERS. THIS RESEARCH ADDRESSES THE NEED FOR A RAPID, SENSITIVE, AND SPECIFIC ENZYME-LINKED IMMUNOSORBENT ASSAY (ELISA) FOR COTININE, THE MAJOR METABOLITE OF NICOTINE, WHICH CAN BE PERFORMED BY PHYSICIANS IN THE FIELD. SEREX, INC., PLANS TO MODIFY ITS CURRENT, COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE ELISA FOR COTININE BY DEVELOPING A NOVEL ASSAY FORMAT SO THAT THE ASSAY CAN BE PERFORMED WITHOUT INSTRUMENTATION FOR A CLEAR DISCRIMINATION BETWEEN NONSMOKERS, NONSMOKERS PASSIVELY EXPOSED TO TOBACCO SMOKE, AND ACTIVE SMOKERS. THE SPECIFIC GOALS ARE TO GENERATE NEW ENZYME-ANTIBODY CONJUGATES AND NEW ANTIGEN-ENZYME CONJUGATES AND PUT THEM IN AN ASSAY FORMAT THAT WILL GENERATE A COLOR IN THE PRESENCE OF COTININE AT LEVELS OF 5 TO 500 NG/ML AND REMAIN COLORLESS IN THE ABSENCE OF COTININE.