It is important to evaluate the presence of neutralising antibodies, produced during viral infections, for prognostic purposes. The invention relates to an in vitro method for evaluating the capacity of a serum to neutralise a virus by using an organic electrochemical transistor.
| Patent title | Method for evaluating the capacity of a serum to neutralise a virus |
|---|---|
| Thematic area | Health |
| Ownership | ALMA MATER STUDIORUM - UNIVERSITA' DI BOLOGNA |
| Inventors | Alessandra Scagliarini, Marta Tessarolo, Francesco Decataldo, Catia Giovannini, Vittorio Sambri, Beatrice Fraboni |
| Protection | Italy, with the possibility to extend internationally |
| Licensing status | Available for development, option, licensing and other enhancement agreements |
| Keywords | transistor, serum, antibody, virus, electrochemistry |
| Filed on | 09 September 2021 |
The growing spread of infectious diseases, in particular, of infectious diseases of the respiratory tract, is driving scientific research towards a search for new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the coronavirus (CoV) SARSCoV-2 has led to an unprecedented demand for diagnostic tests and therapies against the virus, aggravating an epidemiological situation already abounding in new potential pathogenic microorganisms.
The present invention relates to an in vitro method for evaluating the capacity of a serum to neutralise a virus by using an organic electrochemical transistor to measure the state of growth of cells cultured directly on it.
In order to evaluate the effectiveness of a serum in neutralising a virus, the value of a response time of the organic electrochemical transistor is measured and compared with a threshold value expected for healthy cells,
wherein the threshold value is determined for each cell/virus pair.
This technology can be applied to serum neutralization tests for identifying antibodies produced against any viral species responsible of human and animal diseases. The main advantages are:
- the possibility of obtaining an objective and automated measurement in large part performed remotely
- considerable reduction in the risks of prolonged exposure to a highly contagious virus
- tests performed in real time without the use of toxic reagents
- measurements are obtained without the use of very costly, complex and cumbersome instrumentation