Development of a GNA-lectin based immunochromatographic test for rapid diagnosis in human penicilliosis marneffeiPenicillium marneffei is classified as an important emerging opportunistic fungal infection. It has been recently renamed as Talaromyces marneffei. It is the most prevalent systemic mycotic infection in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). This infection is endemic in tropical Asia including Thailand, northeastern India, southern China, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Taiwan. The microorganism is the only known temperature-dependent dimorphic fungus of the genus Penicillium.In the purpose of this study, a novel sandwich ICT for screening P. marneffei antigen in urine and/or serum samples will be developed. The monoclonal anti-P. marneffei antigen gold conjugate will be used as specific signal developing agent and Galanthus nivalis agglutinin (GNA), (or polyclonal anti- P. marneffei antigen) immobilized at test line zone will be used as capturing molecule acting as polyclonal anti-terminal mannose. The diagnostic performance of the novel sandwich ICT strip will be evaluated in comparison to that of the hemoculture-confirmed penicilliosis marneffei which is used as the gold standard laboratory diagnosis of penicilliosis marneffei.  

Recently, there is an urgent need for rapid diagnostic tests for new infectious agents in man and animals. Conventionally, these infectious agents are identified either by culture or by using molecular biology techniques, e.g. PCR. These processes are costly and usually take several hours or even days. We have produced luminol encapsulated biotinylated liposome and used it as a generic signal generator, capable of conjugation to biotinylated biomolecules, such as specific microbial oligonucleotides, antibody and antigen. The system has been used to detect specific oligonucleotide hybridization and specific antigen-antibody interaction, and the results have been published.

Human pythiosis is an emerging and life-threatening infectious disease caused by the fungus-like organism Pythium insidiosum. It is endemic in Thailand where about 80% of the cases are reported. The disease has high rate of morbidity and mortality, due to lack of early diagnosis and effective treatment. We have developed a convenient and reliable immunochromatographic test (ICT) for rapid detection of human anti-P.insidiosum IgG, for use in early diagnosis and monitoring of pythiosis patients, resulting in saving of limbs and lives. The test kit has been mass produced for free distribution to 6 hospitals with medical schools throughout the country. This research has been published and a patent application has been submitted. In collaboration with researchers from the Department of Pathology, Ramathibodi Hospital, the ICT has been used to study the seroprevalence of P.insidiosum infection in high-risk hematological patients, and a multi-host ICT for the detection of P.insidiosum infection in human, horse and dog has been developed.  

Development of immunochromatographic tests for simple diagnosis of human gnathostomiasis caused by Gnathostoma spinigerumGnathostomiasis is a parasitic infection caused by the third stage larvae of the helminthes Gnathostoma spp., and is found mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. It is a food-borne zoonosis and is endemic in areas where people eat raw freshwater fish or shellfish, especially Thailand and other parts of Southeast Asia, Japan, and increasingly Latin America, particularly Mexico. The common clinical features include an intermittent cutaneous or subcutaneous migratory swelling that may persist for many years. In some cases, the parasite can enter other tissues such as the liver, and the eye, resulting in vision loss or blindness, and the nerves, spinal cord, or brain, resulting in nerve pain, paralysis, coma and death.In this project, we propose to study to produce a recombinant protein from a specific antigen and/or synthesize a specific peptide which will be used as a specific antigen of G. spinigerum and to develop a highly specific and sensitive immunochromatographic test for gnathostomiasis.