Immunoassays Differentiate Between HSV1 and HSV2-induced Antibodies

Two prototype immunoassays are able to specifically and accurately detect and differentiate IgG antibodies induced by infection with Herpes Simplex virus (HSV) 1 and HSV 2 in validated serum samples.

The technology represents a potentially great advance in medical and veterinary diagnostics. Reduced diagnostic test processing times of as little as 10 minutes are possible, down from up to three hours using current technology. Quicker diagnosis will benefit patients, physicians, and clinical laboratory customers. Furthermore, the technology allows immunoassays to be performed in fewer steps, reducing the complexity of performing the assays by instrument or by manual operation, hence reducing costs and the potential for operator error. Given the extraordinary simplicity of the assay procedure, the potential applications for the technology in the clinical laboratory are diverse.

Called panDA these homogeneous assays were developed by the international medical diagnostics company Panbio Ltd. (Brisbane, Australia). Commenting on the achievement of this milestone in developing panDA technology, Panbio Acting CEO, Dr. Stuart Hazell said, This is clear evidence that the panDA homogeneous assay technology is capable of differentiating similar analytes with high specificity, which is an area where other homogeneous immunoassay platforms typically flounder. Successfully demonstrating that the key components of the system and the analyte interact specifically and generate a clear signal represents an important breakthrough.

Key advances achieved in the development of the prototype panDA homogenous assays include sensitive and specific detection of a type specific antibody, IgG, induced by specific infection with either HSV 1 or HSV 2, with little or no cross reactivity between analytes. A serum sample is added to a master reagent mix, which if positive produces a colorimetric signal that may be detected shortly thereafter. Results are comparable with those obtained by testing with the market leading kits using the current enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) technology. The assay system uses B-lactamase enzyme fragments that have been successfully engineered to be resistant to B-lactamase inhibitors.

One of the advantages of panDA homogeneous assay technology is that they don't necessarily need to be performed on a highly complex and expensive instrument, said Dr. Hazell. Assays using this technology could be run on many existing laboratory instruments, including open instrument platforms such as automated ELISA instruments and closed instrument platforms such as clinical chemistry analysers. The assays could also be run in handheld point-of-care (POC) testing devices allowing diagnosis of a broad range of conditions at the bedside. By exploiting panDA homogeneous assay technology clinical laboratories might be able to use a single instrument for performing immunoassays, clinical chemistry assays, and assays for critical biomarkers.


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