This thesis describes research in the development of analytical platforms for salivary diagnostics. The work covered in Chapter 5 involved the creation of a colorimetric test strip that was used to monitor the effect of dialysis on two salivary analytes in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). The primary focus of my work is covered in Chapter 6, which describes the development and application of a microsphere-based antibody array for measuring protein biomarkers associated with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and cystic fibrosis (CF) in saliva. The antibody array was produced by loading the etched wells of an optical fiber bundle array with fluorescently-encoded polymer microspheres that specifically bind an assortment of protein biomarkers. The specificity of the antibody array was validated using purified recombinant proteins. Finally, the array technology was used to examine saliva samples from patients with asthma, COPD, CF, and healthy control individuals. Our results suggest the platform could be useful for measuring protein biomarker profiles in saliva or other biological fluids and for providing information that could aid disease diagnosis and monitoring. The ultimate goal of the salivary diagnostics project is to incorporate the antibody array technology into a portable device for conducting rapid biomarker measurements at the point-of-care in the clinic. This aspect of my research involved a multidisciplinary collaboration with many individuals in academia, medicine, dentistry, and industry, and is discussed in Chapter 7.;As a whole, this thesis describes a portion of work in the emerging field of salivary diagnostics research, and offers two examples of how diverse diagnostic platforms can be. For instance, colorimetric test strips that are used to semi-quantitavely measure analyte concentrations and can be read by eye are presented. In the second example, a comparatively complex antibody microarray that utilizes fluorescence immunoassay technology to simultaneously detect ten different inflammatory cytokines is demonstrated. Although both platforms are very different in essence, both were developed to achieve the same goal: to monitor salivary biomarker levels and provide diagnostic information that could enable clinicians to improve the quality of life of their patients.
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