OPTICAL SENSOR FOR MYCOBACTERIUM DETERMINATON

这项建议解决了对简单、敏感的筛查测试的需求 为及早发现和鉴别分枝杆菌菌种 痰标本。拟议的诊断将结合基因探针 具有专利的针对分枝杆菌核糖体RNA(16S RRNA)的 集成光学干涉仪。核糖核糖核酸与核糖核酸的杂交 连接到干涉仪表面的寡核苷酸探针导致 可由干涉仪量化的折射率变化。 利用短基因实现分枝杆菌菌种鉴定 特定互补序列的探针。一种基于数字信号处理器的光学传感器 这种方法有几个主要优点：1)它允许同时 多个核酸靶标的测定，2)灵敏 (潜在10(4)个/毫升)，3)快速(60分钟检测)，4)它 简单(没有洗涤步骤或主观解释)，以及5)低 成本(每项测试5美元，不含昂贵的分析仪器)。在……里面 特别是，拟议的方法应该消除了以下两种情况中的 细菌培养过程耗时或目标复杂 扩增方法有聚合酶链式反应等。 建议的商业应用： 分枝杆菌感染，特别是结核病，是主要的 全球范围内与传染病相关的死亡原因。这个 仅在美国，结核病市场就价值7500万至1亿美元。传统型 鉴定致病微生物的方法很慢，而且 由于高昂的治疗费用和病人的痛苦。建议的光纤 传感器将通过提高灵敏度实现早期诊断 结合同时的多物种鉴定。

This proposal addresses the need for a simple, sensitive screening test for the early detection and differentiation of mycobacterium species in sputum specimens. The proposed diagnostic will combine gene probes specific to mycobacterial ribosomal RNA (16S rRNA) with a proprietary integrated optic interferometer. Hybridization of rRNA to an oligonucleotide probe attached to the interferometer surface results in a refractive index change that can be quantified by the interferometer. Identification of mycobacterium species is achieved by using short gene probes of specific complementary sequences. An optical sensor based on this approach has several key advantages: 1) it allows the simultaneous determination of multiple nucleic acid targets, 2) it is sensitive (potentially <<10(4) cells/mL), 3) it is rapid (60 minute assay), 4) it is simple (no wash steps or subjective interpretation), and 5) it is low cost (<$5 per test, no expensive analytic instrumentation). In particular, the proposed approach should eliminate the need for either time-consuming bacterial culture procedures or complex target amplification methods such as PCR. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS: Mycobacterium infections, and tuberculosis in particular, are a major cause of infectious disease-related death on a worldwide scale. The tuberculosis market in the US alone is $75 to $100 million. Conventional methods for identification of the causative organism are slow, and lead to high treatment costs and patient suffering. The proposed optical sensor would enable early diagnosis through increased sensitivity combined with simultaneous multispecies identification.