Rapid Immunochromatographic Strip Tests Detecting Lead-Based Paint

Exposure to lead-based paint is the major source of potentially dangerous levels of lead in children and adults in the US. This project aims to develop rapid, on-site test kits for the detection of harmful levels of lead-based paint (LBP). The proposed test kits will be calibrated to current regulatory standards, will require no user training or instrumentation and will resemble a home pregnancy test. The proposed test kits will produce a yes/no result, with the negative result providing extremely high confidence that the sample does not contain lead in excess of the regulatory limit and the positive results informing the user that further testing may be warranted. The test kits will be designed to replace current instrument-based assay methods for screening purposes. The successful product will: 1) increase the effectiveness and reduce the cost of large-scale screening and mapping of LBP contamination, and 2) enable non-technical users to quickly and accurately detect or rule out LBP contamination at home or on site. In Phase I, we will attempt to develop a laboratory-format immunoassay for detecting lead extracted from Paint chips. At the successful conclusion of Phase I, we will have demonstrated an extraction-immunoassay procedure capable of discerning whether a given sample of paint contains lead in excess of the regulatory limit. In Phase II, we will transfer the immunoassay capability developed in Phase I into a rapid immunochromatographic test strip format. Silver Lake Research has been producing test strip of this type since 1998 and possesses considerable expertise in the design, development, an manufacturing of immunoassay test strips. All of these products share the principle of replacing costly, time-consuming and labor-intensive analyses with a rapid and accurate screening test; the proposed LBP test kit will provide the same capabilities to address a serious public health threat.