TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY DEVELOPING A RECEPTOR TEST FOR A MODEL BIOLOGICAL TOXIN

ENVIRONMENTAL DIAGNOSTICS, INC. PROPOSED TO DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY OF APPLYING ITS NEW INNOVATIVE HAPTEN TECHNOLOGY TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF IMMUNORECEPTORS FOR DETECTION AND ASSAY OF BIOLOGICAL TOXINS. THE NEW HAPTEN RECEPTOR TECHNOLOGY OVERCOMES PREVIOUS SCIENTIFIC LIMITATIONS AND TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES IN DEVELOPING IMMUNOASSAYS FOR HIGHLYTOXIC, LOW MOLECULAR WEIGHT PROTEIN TOXINS. TO DATE, THE TECHNOLOGY HAS BEEN USED TO DEVELOP TESTS FOR THE TOXIC CHEMICALS DIOXIN, POLY CHLORINATED BIPHENYLS AND ETHYLENE DIBROMIDE WITH SENSITIVITIES OF 10 PARTS PER TRILLION. IMMUNOASSAYS MAY BE ENGINEERED TO DEVELOP TESTS WHICH ARE HIGHLY SPECIFIC FOR A PARTICULAR TOXIN, OR FOR A FAMILY OF CHEMICALLY RELATED TOXINS, OR FOR A PARTICULAR TOXIN AND ITS METABOLITES AND ANALOGS. TETRODOTOXIN WILL BE USED AS A MODEL BIOLOGICAL TOXIN IN PHASE I. THE IMMUNORECEPTORS FOR TETRODOTOXIN WILL BE ADAPTED TO THE COMPANY'S EZ-SCREEN WHICH IS A LOW COST, COMMERCIALLY SUCCESSFUL FIELD TEST THAT CAN DETECT TOXIC CHEMICALS IN THE PARTS PER TRILLION RANGE WITHOUT INSTRUMENTATION. A COLOR CHANGE RESULTS IN 3 TO 5 MINUTES THAT CAN BE EASILY INTERPRETED BY A RELATIVELY UNSKILLED WORKER. SUCCESS IN PHASE I WILL INDICATE THAT TESTS CAN BE QUICKLY DEVELOPED IN PHASE II FOR 15 OR MORE BIOLOGICAL TOXINS.