WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- When Purdue University geneticist Rick Vierling first looked for ways to add value to soybeans, he didn't expect that he could help doctors diagnose AIDS in China. But that's exactly where his research is leading.
In June, the Indiana Crop Improvement Association (ICIA) licensed the use of soybean peroxidase in medical diagnostic test kits to Enzymol International Inc., Columbus, Ohio, and to American Qualex, San Clemente, Calif.
In July, American Qualex will announce the use of soybean peroxidase-based compounds in new diagnostic kits at the annual meeting of the American Association of Clinical Chemistry in Atlanta, July 22-23. The company also plans to collaborate with diagnostic, biotechnology, life science and pharmaceutical companies to develop other products that use soybean peroxidase.
The soy enzyme replaces horseradish peroxidase, which is an integral part of kits designed to help diagnose a myriad of viral, bacterial and parasitic diseases, including AIDS and malaria. Standard kits lose effectiveness in about four months without refrigeration, according to industry sources. Vierling's preliminary research suggests that kits made with soybean peroxidase should last unrefrigerated for at least a year. Such kits will be very useful in places such as China, Africa and Central America, he says.
Vierling, director of the Genetics Laboratory for the ICIA, started experimenting with soybean peroxidase because it is a hot "green" industrial commodity that can be extracted from soybean seed coats. Vierling says researchers have found ways to extract peroxidase from the soybean hulls without reducing the value of the oil or the meal in the beans.
"Peroxidase replaces a lot of really harsh chemicals," says Alex Pokora, vice president for technology for Enzymol, a worldwide leader in developing peroxidase technology. "It's a cleaner technology, and it's cost effective."
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Contact: Becky Goetz
goetz@ecn.purdue.edu
765-494-0461
Purdue University
10-Jul-1997