RAPID BIOSENSOR ASSAY OF AIDS VIRUS ANTIBODIES

THE LONG-TERM OBJECTIVE OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO DEVELOP A RAPID, SPECIFIC, COST-EFFECTIVE TEST FOR HUMAN ANTIBODIES TO HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS (HIV) ANTIGENS UTILIZING A NOVEL CAPACITIVE AFFINITY SENSOR TECHNOLOGY. THE SPECIFIC AIMS OF THIS RESEARCH ARE: 1) TO EVALUATE METHODS BY WHICH HIV ANTIGENS FROM VIRAL PROTEINS GP41 AND P24 CAN BE IMMOBILIZED ON THE SURFACE OF THE BIOSENSOR AND 2) TO DETERMINE THE MAGNITUDE AND SPECIFICITY OF THE CAPACITANCE CHANGES WHEN SUCH COATED BIOSENSORS INTERACT WITH MOUSE MONOCLONAL AND HUMAN ANTIBODIES AGAINST HIV ANTIGENS. THIS PROJECT WILL CONTRIBUTE TO TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION BY ASSESSING THE POTENTIAL APPLICABILITY OF CAPACITIVE AFFINITYSENSOR TECHNOLOGY TO A MAJOR HUMAN HEALTH PROBLEM: IDENTIFICATION OF THOSE PERSONS WHO HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO HIV. IF RECENT CDC RECOMMENDATIONS ARE FOLLOWED, PERHAPS ASMANY AS 50 MILLION HIV ANTIBODY TESTS WILL BE PERFORMED IN THE U.S. IN 1987. MAKING THIS TEST MORE RAPID AND COST-EFFECTIVE THROUGH UTILIZATION OF CAPACITIVE AFFINITY SENSOR TECHNOLOGY SHOULD HAVE SUBSTANTIAL COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL, BOTH IN THE U.S. AND IN MANY FOREIGN COUNTRIES.