Label-free dectection of cytotoxic antigen-specific T cells with semiconductor Nanowires: (132.10)

Abstract

Abstract Detection of T cell mediated disease and vaccine-induced immunity has been made possible by the discovery of MHC restricted recognition of peptide by T cells. Current approaches for detection of antigen-specific T cells rely on the use fluorescently labeled-soluble forms of multivalent MHC-peptide complexes or functional assays. We have developed a solid-state semiconductor nanowire technology for label-free direct detection of antigen-specific T cell subsets reactive to their specific antigens. The approach is simple, fast, sensitive and integratable into clinical settings. We describe this technology and demonstrate its feasibility in the in vitro detection of 100–1000 murine antigen-specific T cells in a label-free fashion.