THE OVERALL OBJECTIVE OF THIS RESEARCH PLAN IS TO EVALUATE AND OPTIMIZE A NEW ANALYTICAL PROCEDURE (MICROGRAVIMETRIC IMMUNOASSAY) FOR THE DETECTION AND QUANTITATION OF AN IMPORTANT BRAIN PROTEIN, MYELIN BASIC PROTEIN, WITH PROJECT-ED UTILITY IN THE

THE OVERALL OBJECTIVE OF THIS RESEARCH PLAN IS TO EVALUATE AND OPTIMIZE A NEW ANALYTICAL PROCEDURE (MICROGRAVIMETRIC IMMUNOASSAY) FOR THE DETECTION AND QUANTITATION OF AN IMPORTANT BRAIN PROTEIN, MYELIN BASIC PROTEIN, WITH PROJECT-ED UTILITY IN THE DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS AND ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE. THE DEVELOPMENT AND EVENTUAL COMMERCIALIZATION OF SUCH A METHODOLOGY COULD SIMPLIFY AND SPEED THE DIAGNOSIS OF A NUMBER OF MENTAL DISORDERS. THE RESEARCH PLAN INCLUDES THE CONSTRUCTION OF MICROELECTRONIC SENSORS BASED ON SURFACE ACOUSTIC WAVE TECHNOLOGY THAT INCORPORATES A POLYMER LAYER THAT PROTECTS THE SENSOR, REDUCES NONSPECIFIC BINDING, AND ALLOWS COVALENTCOUPLING OF MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES. PROTOTYPE SENSORS WILL BE TESTED FOR FUNDAMENTAL OPERATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS. BIO- CHEMICAL REAGENTS INCLUDING MYELIN BASIC PROTEIN AND MONO- CLONAL ANTIBODIES TO THAT PROTEIN WILL BE PREPARED IN A PARALLEL PROGRAM. WHEN BOTH ARE READY, SENSORS INCORPORAT- ING THE MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES WILL BE EVALUATED AND COMPAREDTO REFERENCE LABORATORY TECHNIQUES.