Human exhaled aerosol droplet biomarker system and method
A system and method for detecting a biomarker in exhaled breath condensate nanodroplets comprises noninvasively collecting exhaled breath condensate nanodroplets of a subject, and analyzing said nanodroplets utilizing immuno-quantitative polymerase chain reaction to detect one or more target biomarkers.
1. A method for detecting a biomarker in exhaled breath condensate nanodroplets, comprising the steps of:
noninvasively collecting exhaled breath condensate (EBC) nanodroplets from a subject by impacting said nanodroplets into a liquid medium; and
analyzing said nanodroplets utilizing immuno-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (IqPCR) to detect one or more target biomarkers in said nanodroplets.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one of said target biomarkers is associated with a respiratory disease, disorder or infection.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein said respiratory disease, disorder or infection is selected from the group consisting of lung cancer, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, tuberculosis, influenza, a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) related infection, and an acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) related infection.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein said biomarkers comprise cytokines.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein said cytokines are selected from the group consisting of IFN-gamma, IL-1 beta, IL-7, IL-8, IL-13, and TNF-alpha.
6. The method of claim 1 , comprising the further step of determining a volume of said nanodroplets generated by the subject, and standardizing a concentration of said detected biomarkers within said collected nanodroplets.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the subject is disposed in a supine position during said collecting step.
8. The method of claim 1 , comprising the further step of providing a collection device configured for collecting said nanodroplets, said collection device configured to determine the number and size distribution of said nanodroplets.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein said collection device comprises an optical particle counter.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein said IqPCR assay comprises a microbead having an antibody immobilized thereon, wherein said antibody binds to a particular one of said target biomarkers.
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein said IqPCR exhibits at least a 10-fold increase in sensitivity in detection of said target biomarkers as compared to enzyme-linked immuno-sorbent assay (ELISA).
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein said IqPCR exhibits at least a 1000-fold increase in sensitivity in detection of said target biomarkers as compared to enzyme-linked immuno-sorbent assay (ELISA).