Novel, Routine Assay for AIDS Virus and Other Pathogenic Viruses. Phase 2

摘要

Introduction: The goal of this project is to develop a dual probe (DNA, RNA)assay to detect pathogenic viruses in bodily fluids with the AIDS virus, HIV as a model. Dual probes have the advantage of high specificity with fewer false positives than a single probe assay. The assay will also be non-radioactive to eliminate the safety, inconvenience and environmental problem with radioactive materials. Our initial approach utilized a measurable energy transfer between the two probes which would only occur when they are in close proximity when hybridized to the target DNA. Their oligonucleotide sequence was chosen to match an exact complimentarity to the genome of the virus to be detected. In phase I the signal generated was a light emission due to the energy transfer from light activated fluorescein in one probe to the rhodamine on the second probe.