A Rapid Blood Test To Determine The Active Status And Duration Of Acute Viral Infection

Keywords

antibody; biomolecular corona; dynamic light scattering; gold nanoparticle; immune response; influenza virus; viral infection diagnosis

Abstract

The ability to rapidly detect and diagnose acute viral infections is crucial for infectious disease control and management. Serology testing for the presence of virus-elicited antibodies in blood is one of the methods used commonly for clinical diagnosis of viral infections. However, standard serology-based tests have a significant limitation: they cannot easily distinguish active from past, historical infections. As a result, it is difficult to determine whether a patient is currently infected with a virus or not, and on an optimal course of action, based off of positive serology testing responses. Here, we report a nanoparticle-enabled blood test that can help overcome this major challenge. The new test is based on the analysis of virus-elicited immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody present in the protein corona of a gold nanoparticle surface upon mixing the gold nanoparticles with blood sera. Studies conducted on mouse models of influenza A virus infection show that the test gives positive responses only in the presence of a recent acute viral infection, approximately between day 14 and day 21 following the infection, and becomes negative thereafter. When used together with the traditional serology testing, the nanoparticle test can determine clearly whether a positive serology response is due to a recent or historical viral infection. This new blood test can provide critical clinical information needed to optimize further treatment and/or to determine if further quarantining should be continued.

Publication Date

11-10-2017

Publication Title

ACS Infectious Diseases

Volume

3

Issue

11

Number of Pages

866-873

Document Type

Article

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1021/acsinfecdis.7b00137

Socpus ID

85033565697 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/85033565697

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