OPTICAL ASSAY FOR OXYGEN IN DIAGNOSTIC TESTS

THE LONG-TERM OBJECTIVE IS TO DEVELOP AN INSTRUMENT AND ASSAY SYSTEM FOR OPTICAL MEASUREMENT OF OXYGEN IN VITRO THATWILL BE USED FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTS INVOLVING REACTANTS THAT CONSUME OXYGEN. THE IMMEDIATE APPLICATION IS FOR CHOLESTEROL ANALYSIS USING AN OXIDATIVE ENZYME SYSTEM. THE CONCEPT IS THAT OXYGEN UTILIZATION IS DIRECTLY TIED TO SUBSTRATE TURNOVER; THEREFORE, DETERMINATION OF THE CHANGE IN THE AMOUNT OF OXYGEN IN A SAMPLE FLUID CAN BE AN ACCURATE MEASURE OF THE SUBSTRATE CONCENTRATION. PRELIMINARY RESULTS INDICATE THAT THE OPTICAL SENSING APPROACH HAS PROMISE AND COULD BE THE BASIS FOR A SYSTEM THAT CONVENIENTLY PROCESSES MULTIPLE SAMPLES. THE AIM OF PHASE I IS TO ASSESS THE RANGE, ACCURACY, AND RELIABILITY OFTHE APPROACH IN ORDER TO ESTABLISH ITS FEASIBILITY FOR CHOLESTEROL ANALYSIS. CHOLESTEROL SAMPLES OF KNOWN VALUES WILL BE REACTED WITH CONVENTIONAL ENZYME REAGENT, AND THE CHANGE IN OXYGEN CONTENT OF THE SAMPLE WILL BE TRACKED WITH FIBEROPTIC OXYGEN SENSORS. THE DATA WILL BE COMPARED AND CONTRASTED TO THE KNOWN CHOLESTEROL LEVELS AS WELL AS THE RESULTS OF OTHER CONVENTIONAL ASSAY METHODS.