Pressure Transduced Chemical Assay and Method

Abstract

An assay system has a chamber that receives a test strip onto which a sample comprising an analyte has been placed. The chamber is in gaseous communication with a piezoelectric material that generates an electrical signal in response to a pressure change in the chamber that is caused by a reaction between the analyte and a reagent.

1 . An assay system comprising: 
 a test strip that receives a sample comprising an analyte;    a chamber that receives the test strip; and    a piezoelectric material in gaseous communication with the chamber that generates an electrical signal in response to a pressure change in the chamber caused by a reaction between the analyte and a reagent.    
   
   
       2 . The assay system of  claim 1  wherein the chamber is at least partially sealed during the reaction between the analyte and the reagent.  
   
   
       3 . The assay system of  claim 2  wherein the chamber is sealed during the reaction such that the electric signal is sufficient to provide a qualitative assessment of the analyte.  
   
   
       4 . The assay system of  claim 2  wherein the chamber is sealed during the reaction such that the electric signal is sufficient to provide a quantitative assessment of the analyte.  
   
   
       5 . The assay system of  claim 1  wherein the analyte forms a complex with a first compound, and wherein the test strip further comprises a second compound that binds the complex.  
   
   
       6 . The assay system of  claim 5  wherein the first compound further comprises an enzyme, and wherein the reagent reacts with the enzyme to produce a gas.  
   
   
       7 . The assay system of  claim 6  wherein the enzyme is selected from the group consisting of peroxidase, urease, carbonic anhydrase and catalase.  
   
   
       8 . The assay system of  claim 5  wherein the second compound comprises an antibody.  
   
   
       9 . The assay system of  claim 1  wherein the analyte is selected from a group consisting of a peptide, a nucleic acid, a carbohydrate, a hormone, a pharmaceutical agent, a lipid, a bacterium, a virus, a viroid, a mammalian cell, a parasite, a chelated metal ion, and a haptenic organic molecule.  
   
   
       10 . The assay system of  claim 1  wherein the analyte is selected from a  Cryptosporidium parvu  oocyst, a polypeptide from  Cryptosporidium parvum , and a nucleic acid from  Cryptosporidium parvum.    
   
   
       11 . The assay system of  claim 1  wherein the first compound is selected from the group consisting of a peptide, an antibody, a nucleic acid, an enzyme, and a metal ion chelator.  
   
   
       12 . The assay system of  claim 1  further comprising a microprocessor that transforms the electrical signal into a user readable output.  
   
   
       13 . The assay system of  claim 12  wherein the microprocessor is at least partially enclosed in the chamber.  
   
   
       14 . The assay system of  claim 1  wherein the test strip comprises a sample application zone, a screening zone, a capture zone, and a wick.  
   
   
       15 . The assay system of  claim 15  wherein the screening zone comprises immobilized analyte.  
   
   
       16 . The assay system of  claim 14  wherein the capture zone comprises an immobilized second compound.  
   
   
       17 . The assay system of  claim 1  wherein the analyte is an antigen from  Cryptosporidium parvum  and forms a complex with an antibody that is labeled with catalase, and wherein the complex is bound by an anti-antibody that is immobilized in a capture zone of the test strip, and wherein the pressure change in the chamber is produced by a reaction of the catalase with a substrate.  
   
   
       18 . The assay system of  claim 1  wherein the sample is applied to a capture zone on the test strip, and wherein the capture zone comprises an antibody that binds the analyte.  
   
   
       19 . The assay system of  claim 18  wherein the analyte bound to the antibody is detected by a detector molecule.  
   
   
       20 . The assay system of  claim 19  wherein the detector molecule comprises an antibody that is conjugated with an enzyme.