Researchers at the Arizona State University Biodesign Institute have made an impressive leap in disease detection, with a novel screening method that can look at hundreds of disease markers and evaluate thousands of samples simultaneously, delivering most results in 24 hours.
Unlike conventional blood tests, the new platform, called Multiplexed In-Solution Protein Array (MISPA), looks at many disease factors at once.
Scientists put the new method to the test in two sets of sampling experiments across the ASU community, described in the current issue of the journal Microbiology Spectrum.
MISPA demonstrates an accuracy comparable with, or better than, existing commercial tests while displaying superior versatility, stability and testing capacity compared with conventional methods.
The adaptability and scalability of the technique make it well-suited for diverse applications, ranging from tracking infectious disease outbreaks to understanding the immune landscape of populations and gauging responses to immunization efforts.
The MISPA platform uses full-length, folded proteins known as antigens, each tagged with a unique DNA strand. The antigens detect and bind to antibodies that are produced by the immune system in response to infection.The technique promises to make individual diagnosis and population-wide monitoring of disease faster, more accurate and more comprehensive.
“There are number of medical scenarios where doctors need to test for multiple possible disease exposures to deliver the best care,” according to corresponding author Joshua LaBaer. “One example would be pregnancy. Currently, this requires drawing multiple tubes of blood and conducting many separate tests. So we were looking to create a reliable and reproducible test that could evaluate all those exposures at once and only require a drop of blood. This technology will allow us to get there.”
LaBaer is the executive director of the Biodesign Institute and directs the Biodesign Virginia G. Piper Center for Personalized Diagnostics. He is also a professor in the School of Molecular Sciences at ASU.
He is joined by colleagues from the Biodesign Institute as well as from ASU’s School of Life Sciences and College of Health Solutions.