SBIR-STTR Award

For the efficient screening of drugs of abuse, simple but unambiguous analytical methods are required which can be performed on-site. This project is designed to develop an immunosensor for the detection of drugs of abuse. While the feasibility studies will be performed with cocaine and its major metabolite, benzoylecgonine, the sensor can be adapted to substances for which antibodies are available, including therapeutic drugs and other physiologically active compounds. Operation of the immunosensor does not require the usual procedures associated with immunoassays such as pipetting, adding to reagents, manual separation, mixing and the like but just dipping the disposable sensor into the biological medium (urine, blood, saliva). The generated signal will be monitored with existing technology as used for the measurement of blood glucose. The minimal time period for completing the assay is estimated to be between 3 and 5 minutes without the requirement to stop a reaction for completion.

For the efficient screening of drugs of abuse, simple but unambiguous analytical methods are required which can be performed on-site. This project is designed to develop an immunosensor for the detection of drugs of abuse. While our project is focused on the detection of benzoyleegonine, the major urinary metabolite of cocaine, immunosensor technology can be readily adapted to other substances for which antibodies are available, including therapeutic drugs and other physiologically active compounds. Operation of the immunosensor is a single-step procedure which does not require the usual steps associated with immunoassays such as pipetting, adding of reagents, manual separation and mixing; the disposable sensor need only be dipped into the biological medium (urine, blood, saliva). The signal generated will be monitored with existing technology that has been developed for the measurement of blood glucose. Once the sensor is dipped in the biological medium, the assay will be complete in a minimum of 3 to 10 minutes, without the need to stop the reaction when it is complete.Awardee's statement of the potential commercial applications of the research:The immunosensor will have application for on-site pre-screening for drugs of abuse, thus avoiding the delays inherent in sample transfer and analysis in specialized laboratories. Applications might include employment screening, law enforcement, screening of personnel in sensitive jobs and armed forces. Other applications include monitoring of therapeutic drugs, environmental control, and process control biotechnology.National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)