SBIR-STTR Award

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 projet will contribute to technological innovation by assessing the potential applicability of capacitive affinity sensor technology to a major human health problem: identification of those persons who have been exposed to HIV. If recent CDC recommendations are followed, perhaps as many 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.National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

The long-term objective of this research is to develop a multianalyte biosensor system that can rapidly and simultaneously detect antibodies to antigens of infectious disease agents. One configuration of this system, the "electronic Western blot," will simultaneously detect antibodies to proteins encoded by the gag, pol, and envregion genes of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). It will find application in the blood bank, hospital emergency room, and organ transplant donor-testing markets. Other configurations of the system will incorporate additional antigens, such as hepatitis B core antigen (HepBcA), to address an emerging need for predonation testing in the blood bank market.Specifically, it is planned to produce and evaluate additional HIV and HepBcA antigens, develop and test novel multianalyte sensor substrates, and comparatively evaluate specificity of the multianalyte biosensor system against existing reference methods. Multianalyte biosensor testing for antibodies is an innovative bioelectronic technology with many possible commercial applications in rapid human and veterinary disease detection.Awardee's statement of the potential commercial applications of the research:Rapid, specific, cost-effective multianalyte biosensor tests for antibodies to viral antigens such as HIV proteins and HepBcA will be developed. They will fill emerging needs for predonation testing in the blood bank, as well as the need for fast HIV antibody confirmatory tests in hospital and public health laboratories.National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)