NEWS

National Institute of Animal Biotechnology, Hyderabad developed Fluorine Doped Tin Oxide (FTO) electrode fabricated with reduced Graphene Oxide (rGO) for as an electrochemical based immunosensor for the rapid, sensitive and specific detection of the Non-Structural 1 (NS1) secretory protein, which is suitable biomarker for Japanese encephalitis virus found circulating in the blood and has been reported to elicit an immune response.

DETAILS

• NS1 protein was expressed in E. coli, characterised, and immunized in rabbits to raise the polyclonal antibodies
• NS1 Antibodies were purified from serum, characterized, and used as the bioreceptor to fabricate the electrode with reduced graphene oxide as a conductivity enhancing nanomaterial for the detection of JEV NS1 antigen (Ag)
• The fabricated immunosensor was also specific towards JEV NS1Ag as compared to other flaviviral NS1Ag. Therefore, the proposed immunosensor could be a promising candidate for the development of an accurate, and rapid, diagnosis for specific and sensitive detection of JEV from clinical samples

JAPANESE ENCEPHALITIS VIRUS

• Most common encephalitides worldwide
• Caused by a mosquito-borne flavivirus and is found across south and east areas of Asia
• Zoonosis – an animal disease that can spread to humans
• Transmitted to humans through the bite of infected Culex mosquitoes, which lay their eggs in irrigated rice paddies and other pools of stagnant water
• Pigs and birds serve as amplifying vertebrate hosts
• Humans are believed to be dead-end hosts
• The disease outbreak usually occurs during the rainy season
• Case-fatality rate in severe clinical cases is estimated to be 20–30%, with young children (< 10 years) having a greater risk of severe disease and death.

BIOMARKERS

• Short for biological marker
• Refers to a measurable indicator of some biological state or condition
• Often measured and evaluated to examine normal biological processes, pathogenic processes, or pharmacologic responses to a therapeutic intervention.

Application:

• Biochemical biomarkers are often used in clinical trials, where they are derived from bodily fluids that are easily available to the early phase researchers.
• They are also used in pre-clinical work to identify compounds that appear to modulate disease in in vivo models and therefore might be tried in human clinical trials.
• Disease-related biomarkers give an indication of the probable effect of treatment on patients.