HIV ASSAY SYSTEMS BASED ON GEL MICRODROP TECHNOLOGY

A DIAGNOSTIC TEST WHICH CORRELATES CLOSELY WITH THE PROGRESSION OF AIDS AND WHICH CAN BE PERFORMED RAPIDLY AND QUANTITATIVELY IS, CURRENTLY, NOT AVAILABLE. THE RESEARCH PRESENTS A BROAD APPROACH TO HIV TESTING, WHICH IS ULTIMATELY AMENABLE TO SUCH AUTOMATED ANALYSIS AS FLOW CYTOMETRY. INDIVIDUAL CELLS WILL BE ENCAPSULATED INTO GEL MICRODROPS (GMDS). THE GEL MICRODROP WILL BE USED AS A TESTING ENVIRONMENT TO DETERMINE THE PRESENCE OF THE VIRUS. THE GOALS OF THE PHASE IRESEARCH ARE TO DEMONSTRATE THE FEASIBILITY OF THIS APPROACH USING A CELL LINE INFECTED WITH A DEFECTIVE HIV VIRUS AS A MODEL SYSTEM. SPECIFICALLY, THE PHASE I RESEARCH WILL DEMONSTRATE THAT (1) VIRAL NUCLEIC ACID CAN BE DETECTED WITHIN INDIVIDUAL CELLS ENCAPSULATED IN GMDS AND (2) VIRAL PROTEIN PRODUCTED BY INDIVIDUAL ENCAPSULATED CELLS CAN BE DETECTED BY AN ELISA ASSAY WITHIN GMSS. THE INCREASED EFFORT IN DRUG DEVELOPMENT FOR THE TREATMENT OF AIDS, FURTHER EMPHASIZ ES THE URGENT NEED FOR RAPID AND EFFECTIVE HIV ASSAYS.