As the COVID-19 vaccine becomes available to the public, immunization testing will play an important role in determining whether and how long – term of the vaccine is effective for an individual. Benjamin Larimer, Ph.D., a researcher at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, has developed technology using a potential as a home antibody test.
The Larimer diagnostic test is a reliable and reliable method for determining whether individuals are protected against COVID-19. The technology identifies neutral antibodies – the ones that prevent the virus from invading cells. Emerging research suggests that neutral antibodies offer the best protection against the virus.
The most extensive antibody tests today do not specifically identify neutral antibodies. Currently, these neutral antibodies can only be measured at a high degree of error using complex laboratory tests and time not available to the general public.
According to Larimer, existing antibody tests use a broad-based approach to detecting antibodies, which bind to very small and specific pieces of the virus. Routine testing can mistake antibodies for other viruses, such as the common cold, for COVID-19 antibodies, leading to potentially false-positive results.
To create the new test, Larimer began breaking down the COVID-19 virus into small pieces to identify the exact locations where antibodies are attached to the virus. The results were better than Larimer’s team expected, with the trial detecting 20 percent of cases positive than the standard gold clinical antibody trial. The ability to specifically identify even very few antibodies correctly is an important achievement, according to Larimer.
The goal of each vaccine is to get the body to produce antibodies, which act as a first line of defense against the virus. Tests that detect these antibodies in particular can be used to gauge whether a vaccine is working, and may predict how long protection lasts. “
Benjamin Larimer, Ph.D, Associate Professor, UAB Department of Radiation, Advanced Medical Image Research, University of Alabama, Birmingham
Immunity to COVID-19 is not expected to last forever, and immunosuppression may continue for several years, even after extensive administration of a vaccine.
Clinical trials have shown that COVID-19 vaccines can be highly successful; however, even 95 percent efficiency leaves millions of Americans vulnerable. An antibody test helps determine effectiveness and should help identify if a person is protected from the virus.
Larimer hopes to transform his team’s technology into a cheap and easy-to-use test that will provide home immunity testing to the public. The UAB Research Foundation has filed a provisional patent application for the technology.
Source:
University of Alabama at Birmingham