PORTABLE BIOCHEMICAL DETECTOR FOR CARCINOGEN EXPOSURES

THIS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT EFFORT IS AIMED TOWARD THE VALIDATION AND USE OF A PORTABLE BIOCHEMICAL DETECTOR ("C-PROBE") AS AN INDICATOR FOR HUMAN EXPOSURES TO CARCINOGENIC CHEMICAL AGENTS IN THE FIELD. DURING PHASE I, C-PROBE RESPONSES TO TEST AGENTS WILL BE COMPARED WITH IN VITRO AND IN VIVO PRODUCTION OF CARCINOGEN-DNA ADDUCTS THAT FORM AS A RESULT OF THE EXPOSURES. SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF PHASE I WORK IS EXPECTED TO DEMONSTRATE AN IN VITRO EXPOSURE ASSAY FOR ADDUCTS, DETERMINE THE CONCORDANCE OF C-PROBE RESPONSE WITH CARCINOGENIC ACTIVITY OF THE TEST AGENTS AND CORRELATIONS WITH DNA ADDUCT FORMATION, AND EVALUATE THE FEASIBILITY OF C-PROBE FOR ADDUCT DETECTION IN BODY FLUIDS AND TISSUE SAMPLES. THESE RESULTS WILL SUPPORT PHASE II RESEARCH BY ESTABLISHINGA FRAMEWORK FOR THE FINAL DESIGN OF PRODUCTION PROTOTYPE DETECTORS, QUALITY CONTROL CRITERIA FOR USE AND INTERPRETATION IN EXPOSURES IN THE FIELD, AND APPLICABILITY OF THE DETECTORS FOR MONITORING HUMAN EXPOSURES TO CARCINOGENIC SUBSTANCES AND/OR NONCARCINOGENIC TOXINS IN THEFIELD. THIS RESEARCH SHOWS PROMISE FOR EXPANDING THE APPLICABILITY OF C-PROBE AND FOR VERIFYING POSSIBLE ALTERNATIVE BIOCHEMICAL ASSAY SYSTEMS FOR CARCINOGEN EXPOSURE.