RAPID BIOSENSOR TEST FOR HEPB CORE ANTIGEN ANTIBODIES

THE LONG-TERM OBJECTIVE OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO DEVELOP A RAPID, COST-EFFECTIVE TEST FOR HUMAN ANTIBODIES TO HEPATITIS B CORE ANTIGEN (HEPBCA) WHICH WOULD BE SUITABLE FOR PREDONATION SCREENING OF BLOOD DONORS, AND WOULD UTILIZENOVEL CAPACITIVE AFFINITY SENSOR TECHNOLOGY. THE SPECIFIC AIMS OF THIS RESEARCH ARE: 1) TO EVALUATE METHODS BY WHICH HEPBCA CAN BE IMMOBILIZED ON THE SURFACE OF THE BIOSENSOR, 2) TO EVALUATE A HUMAN SERUM PROTEIN AS A COATING FOR A REFERENCE BIOSENSOR, AND 3) TO DETERMINE THE MAGNITUDE AND SPECIFICITY OF THE CAPACITANCE CHANGES WHEN HEPBCA- AND HUMAN SERUM PROTEIN-COATED BIOSENSORS INTERACT WITH MOUSE MONOCLONAL AND HUMAN ANTIBODIES AGAINST HEPBCA. THIS PROJECT WILL CONTRIBUTE TO TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION BY ASSESSING THE APPLICABILITY OF CAPACITIVE AFFINITY SENSOR TECHNOLOGY TO A MAJOR CURRENT PROBLEM FOR BLOOD BANKS: THE HIGH COST OF TESTING FOR ANTIBODIES TO HEPBCA, A SURROGATE TEST FOR NON-A, NON-B HEPATITIS. DEVELOPING A HEPBCA ANTIBODY TEST SUITABLE FOR PREDONATION SCREENING OF DONORS SHOULD HAVE SUBSTANTIAL COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL, BOTH IN THE U.S. AND IN SEVERAL FOREIGN COUNTRIES.