# Immunoassays for Human and Environmental Health Monitoring

> **NIH NIH P42** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS · 2020 · $227,270

## Abstract

ABSTRACT: PROJECT 3
One of the goals of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Superfund Research Program
(SRP) is the development of methods and technologies to detect, assess and evaluate the effects of toxic
substances on human health. To address the issue of high analysis costs for assessing toxic substances in the
environment as well as the need for measuring indicators of exposure to humans, this project will develop new
immunoassays, improve the utility of the assays, and apply them (in collaboration with other investigators in
the UC Davis SRP Center). A complement to gas or liquid chromatography (GC or LC) coupled to mass
spectrometry (MS), immunoassays are characterized by their speed, sensitivity, high throughput and low cost,
which is underscored by their long history of use in clinical diagnostics. This project proposes three aims: Aim I
is to make strategic improvements to an emerging antibody technology (called VHH or nanobody), which will
vastly change the field of immunodiagnostics, including testing for small environmental molecules. Aim II is to
develop new assays for compounds of concern to the community partner, identified by the Bioremediation
project (Project 1), and the SRP that can be used to assess hazardous chemicals in the environment and in
humans. Some of the high-priority compounds for assay development include coumarin rodenticides,
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and pesticides and their degradation products. In this same realm of
antibody development, the second aim includes a collaboration with Projects 4 and 5 to develop antibodies for
protein targets needed to enhance the throughput of Western blot technology. Western blots are critical
components of diagnostic testing to identify the effects of toxic chemical exposure. With improved efficiency,
more chemicals can be screened and a better grasp of the toxic effects can be discerned. Aim III is to advance
field methods for chemical detection by developing new immunodiagnostic technologies and applying them to
real-world sampling needs. Through a collaboration with the Lab-on-a-Chip Nanosensing Platforms project
(Project 2), classical antibodies as well as newly developed VHH reagents will be used in novel biosensors
and membrane-based platforms. These new technologies will emphasize field portability, high sample
throughput, and ease of use by the end-user, in order augment the Program's research translation and
community engagement efforts. Such technologies will be used to empower communities to collect data in
response to their environmental chemical concerns. Ultimately, the immunoassays developed in this project
will be valuable tools for stakeholders who wish to detect chemical exposures and biomarkers of their toxicity.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9917787
- **Project number:** 5P42ES004699-32
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS
- **Principal Investigator:** Natalia Vasylieva
- **Activity code:** P42 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $227,270
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** — → —

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9917787

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9917787, Immunoassays for Human and Environmental Health Monitoring (5P42ES004699-32). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-10 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9917787. Licensed CC0.

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