Rapid detection and diagnosis of acute viral infections is critical for infectious disease control. During an acute viral infection, viral antigen and virus-specific antibody each reaches peak values at different time points. Current detection for the presence of viral antigen and virus-specific antibody can lead to false negative and false positive results. We have developed a new blood test that can measure the active immune response associated with acute viral infection using gold nanoparticle (AuNP) in combination with dynamic light scattering (DLS). Immunoglobulin G (IgG) protein is a major product of an active immune response following acute viral infections. To conduct the test, a small amount of blood serum is first mixed with citrate-AuNP to form a protein corona, and the particle size (D1) is measured by DLS (Figure 1). Then an anti-IgG antibody is added to the assay solution. This will crosslink AuNP due to the binding between IgG and anti-IgG. The particle size of the assay solution is measured again by DLS as D2. A test score is defined as the ratio of D2/D1 to quantify relative amounts of IgG in the protein corona. We have studied the changes in the amounts of IgG using laboratory mice infected with A/PR8 influenza A virus. The test only gives positive results when there is an active immune response during viral infection. This test overcomes the problem of traditional serological test, which is not able to distinguish active immune response from a past, historical immune response.

Gold nanoparticle-enabled blood test for acute viral infection detection

254th National Meeting (2017)

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