Office of Technology Management
Summary:
This
project sought to isolate the human Rh red cell antigen in a form which
could be coupled to plastic surfaces yet retain full antigenic activity.
Such a preparation would make possible development of quantitative ELISA
or RIA diagnostic kits for absolute quantitation of anti-Rh antibodies,
eliminating the widely used subjective method of “titering”. Further,
it would make possible development of immunoadsorbents which could specifically
purify anti-Rh antibodies for use in Rh negative women at risk for delivering
a fetus affected by Hemolytic Disease of the Newborn and make possible
development of inline absorbents to immediately remove anti-Rh antibodies
in such patients. To this end, we have successfully developed a
method for isolation of the Rh antigen in a soluble form and, in addition,
developed a counterintuitive method for coupling the antigen to solid-phase
plastic supports in a fully antigenic form. The bound antigen is
stable to a wide range of buffers, is fully antigenically active, and methodology
for elution of bound antibodies has been developed.
Technology Status:
These patents are available for licensing from UT-Houston Health Science Center.
Patent Status:
Inventor:
L. Scott Rodkey,
Ph.D.