This technology identifies two target peptides for Lyme disease serodiagnosis, enhancing the sensitivity and specificity of early detection.
Lyme disease is the most prevalent tick-borne disease in the United States. Early diagnosis and treatment can prevent both chronic as well as acute disease. Methods for detection of the infectious agent, Borrelia burgdorferi, require biopsies followed by molecular assays that are frequently negative even in patients with an active infection. Thus, the diagnosis of Lyme disease is more commonly made by testing for antibodies in blood using serodiagnostic tests that have limited sensitivity and specificity. The standard two-tiered sero testing protocol performed by clinical labs requires an ELISA followed by a western blot. This test is expensive to run and only identifies 40% of infected individuals in the early stages of the illness when antibiotic treatment is critical in order to prevent severe and persistent disease.
We have developed a lateral flow test for rapid, inexpensive detection of Lyme disease. Our test is based on the discovery of two peptides in B. burgdorferi that are sensitive and specific for Lyme disease. This test enables rapid, cost-effective testing and has the potential for point-of-care and at-home diagnostic applications.
Patent Pending
IR CU25107
Licensing Contact: Kristin Neuman
