Development of Serum Bactericidal Assay for P. aeruginosa

Dr. Ramya Anandan, Nandhini D

Abstract: The primary objective of this research work is to develop a serum bactericidal assay (SBA) for the quantification of bactericidal antibodies in human serum for P. aeruginosa (pSBA). Whole cell antigens (Heat and formalin inactivated) were generated from clinical isolates. It was screened for Anti-pseudomonas antibodies (IgG) using ELISA technique. An increased sero-reactivity with heat killed preparation 54-63 % were observed than formalin killed. It may be due to the presence of different epitopes in heat & formalin inactivated antigen. ELISA positive sera were pSBA positive. No sero-cross reactivity in pSBA. No major variations in pSBA titre with different bacterial inoculum tested. pSBA antibody driven with no interference with endogenous complement. This study demonstrated Anti-pseudomonas functional activity in human serum.

Keywords: Serum bactericidal assay, Paeruginosa, Whole cell antigen, ELISA, endogenous complement, Functional antibody