Preparation and preliminary use of a gold immuno-chromatography assay to detect the rabies virus.

Objective To develop a rapid,convenient,and specific method of immunochromatography assay(ICA) to detect the rabies virus(RV) in clinical specimens from naturally infected dogs.Methods Colloidal gold was prepared through deoxidization of trisodium citrate,and anti-RV monoclonal antibody labeled with colloidal gold was used as a detector.Anti-RV polyclonal antibody and sheep anti-mouse IgG were blotted on a nitrocellulose membrane for test and control lines,respectively.Results Colloidal gold test strips revealed a positive reaction to 15 mouse brains infected with RV,and results of FAT were the same.Reactions to CDV,CPV,CCV and healthy mouse brains were negative.Conclusion Colloidal gold test strips rapidly,conveniently and specifically detect RV,so these strips are suited to clinical diagnosis of RV.