Magnetization of hydrogel particles: A novel urine tuberculosis antigen test

This study aims at developing a nanotechnology-based screening test that would reliably detect early stage tuberculosis (TB) infection and discriminate active from latent infections. The use of urine in TB testing has been hampered by 1) extremely low concentration analytes and 2) protein lability. A novel urine collection system based on bait functionalized hydrogel nanoporous particles is developed that in few instants concentrates the analytes present in a large volume of urine (e.g. 30 mL) in a small volume of bait functionalized particles (e.g. 50 ul) and protects the captured analytes from degradation. Hydrogel particles can be shipped to the analysis laboratory at room temperature without the need of costly freezing preservation. A novel separation method based on magnetic nanoparticle tags permits the harvesting of hydrogel particles in few seconds without using high speed centrifugation. This technology can enable the production of an urinary TB antigen test applicable in developing country settings where the access to conventional laboratory equipment might be limited.