The ultimate goal of this technology development program is improve the detection and quantitation of specific microbes in biological fluids such as blood, cerebrospinal fluid and urine. This technology is based upon a novel enzymatic amplification system called Bioluminescence Regenerative Cycle (BRC). In phase I we will demonstrate the use of BRC to detect bacteria in a biological sample. Pathogens will first be captured from a sample using antibodies, and the PCR amplification of the pathogens' DNA will be detected with BRC. The adaptation and integration of BRC with this application will not only result in a method that is much more rapid and sensitive than any existing technique by a factor of 10 to 100, but also will tremendously increase the specificity by having orthogonal tests (immunoassay and genetic assay). This will enable much more rapid and accurate diagnoses of nosocomial and other infections. The applications to agents of biological warfare are obvious.
