Current gold-standard immunochemical techniques are either qualitative and difficult to multiplex (e.g., �dipsticks�), or slow, multi-step, reagent-intensive processes that require skilled technicians operating in equipped laboratories. In response we have developed the electrochemical-DNA (E-DNA) scaffold platform, which supports the rapid, selective, and quantitative detection of specific molecular analytes in complex samples without the use of reagents or sample preparation steps. This research is focused on the adaptation of this platform to the diagnosis of patients with Lyme disease. Early stage detection of Lyme disease is important to prevent serious conditions that can be prevented with antibiotic therapy. The detection of Lyme disease, however, has proved difficult due to the limited immune response in the early stages of the disease as well as the poor specificity of current probes. This said, several groups have identified Lyme pathogen epitopes of potential clinical utility. To date, however, these potential epitopes have shown limited detection of Lyme disease in human samples. The use of a single epitope appears insufficient in detecting early stage Lyme disease due to the limited number of IgG antibodies formed at this stage of the disease. The isolation of IgM antibodies from these samples show strong binding suggesting that a strong binding IgM epitope could prove more useful and provide diagnosis.

Detection of pathogenic antibodies using one-step electrochemical methods

248th National Meeting (2014)

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