Affinity Reagents for Multiplexed, Rapid Diagnosis of Bacterial Infections at the Point of Care using Diagnostic Magnetic Resonance
Abstract
Our long-term goal is to develop DMR (diagnostic magnetic resonance) into an automated, point-of-care diagnostic device of bacterial infections, which is portable and robust enough to be used in austere environments, and detects the presence of multiple pathogens with high sensitivity and within minutes. Our work focuses on developing DMR as a tool for the diagnosis of bacterial pneumonia. In DMR, pathogenic bacteria are labeled with magnetic nanoparticles that are conjugated to affinity reagents specific for each given organism, and detection sensitivity and specificity are mostly determined by the binding affinity and specificity of the selected affinity reagent. We have identified a suite of affinity reagents for a number of medically relevant pathogens. In addition, we propose that clinically useful diagnoses can be made by combining the specific identification of individual pathogens with the general diagnosis of classes of organisms that would provide an important guide to therapy. We continue to seek small molecule binders that are sufficiently sensitive or specific to serve as class specific binding agents. In addition, we are currently pursing recombinant antibodies as potential class specific binding agents.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2012
- Accession Number
- AD1035533
Entities
People
- Marta Fernandez-suarez
- Sarah Fortune
Organizations
- Harvard College