POSTER
High sensitivity detection of multiple tick borne infections in blood and urine using nanoparticle entrapment and mass spectrometry
Presented at ASTMH 2018
Team detected parasite proteins in red blood cells, serum, and urine of B. microti-infected golden hamsters using a nanoparticle MS approach. Three biomarkers were characterized by WB, IFA, and ELISA. Method also detected previously unrecognized proteins from multiple tick borne pathogens in urine samples from patients with persistent Lyme disease. Attributes of the technology include: 1) Rapid harvest of analytes, protection from degradation, and exclusion of unwanted high abundance host proteins; 2) Presence of unique chemical baits immobilized in the nanoparticle core with high affinity and a very low off-rate; 3) Absolute specificity for the target amino acid sequence by using tandem MS and simultaneous investigation of peptides from different tick borne pathogens; and 4) Adaptation to full automation for high throughput testing. Further adaptation of nanotechnology into immunochromatographic tests can provide a platform for a one-step, rapid analysis of prospective carriers of multiple tick borne infections or for blood screening.