Saliva Diagnostics and Research Resources

This page serves as a repository of useful information and resources for the area of saliva diagnostics. Particular emphasis is placed on the subject matter as it relates to miniaturized diagnostics platforms.  The McDevitt molecular saliva diagnostics technology has evolved into a powerful tool that has the capacity to generate new information that is relevant also to macroscopic measurements done in the general area of saliva diagnostics. Thus, both microscopic and macroscopic perspectives will be covered here as will both internal and external resources.

Shared Internal Resources:

Over the past several years, the UT-UK collaborative effort has established an important program whereby new assay methods and new instrumentation have been created. This work has extended the utility of the area of saliva-based diagnostics.  A number of important resources and protocols have been developed as part of this program. These resources are provided here below to aid other researches that are interested in contributing to ongoing activities in the area of saliva diagnostics. Links to these resources are provided below:

Protocols for Agarose Bead Activation (pdf).
Protocols for Derivitization of Polymer Microspheres (pdf).
Protocols for Saliva Collection and Storage (pdf).
Protocols for Anisotropic Etching of Array (pdf).

External Resources:

While medicine has rapidly expanded the repertoire of biologic diagnostics using serum and cerebrospinal fluid as systemic surrogates of various diseases, there has been much less progress in biodental health related areas.

Many important biological substances including electrolytes, drugs, proteins (e.g. cytokines, hormones, enzymes), antibodies, microbes, and RNA's have been identified in saliva. Most resources available to date regarding the use of saliva as a diagnostic fluid have a strong emphasis on hormone and drug testing. This perspective is covered in a brochure from the IBL Immuno-Biological Laboratories in Hamburg.

Another good review describing tools for toxicology as they relate to saliva diagnostics is provided by researchers at the Utrecht Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences in the Netherlands.

A wealth of important work in the area of salivary diagnostics can be found in an excellent review by Kaufman. This article covers saliva diagnostics and is published in Critical Reviews in Oral Biology and Medicine - Kaufman, E. et al., The diagnostic applications of saliva - A review, Crit. Rev. Oral. Biol. Med. 2002, 13, (2), 197-212). 

A book by Daniel Malamud and Lawrence Tabak ("Saliva as a diagnosis fluid", New York, N.Y.: New York Academy of Sciences, 1993., ISBN: 0897667875 0897667883) serves as a very informative and helpful reference on this same subject matter. 

Taba (Taba, M. et al., Diagnostic biomarkers for oral and periodontal diseases., Dent Clin North Am 2005, 49, (3), 551-71, vi.).

Cone at Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences (Cone, E. J. et al., Saliva testing for drugs of abuse. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1993, 694, 91-127).

Aps (Aps, J. K. et al., Review: The physiology of saliva and transfer of drugs into saliva. Forensic Sci Int 2005, 150, (2-3), 119-31).

The NIDCR has realized the potential of saliva and oral fluids as well as the potential of modern analytical technologies  and advanced instrumentation in the development of saliva and other oral fluid-based diagnostics.  This division of NIH has re-issued a request for applications (RFA) entitled "Development of Technologies for Saliva/Oral Fluid Based Diagnostics."

Eleni Kousvelari, DDS, D.Sc.
Chief, Cellular & Molecular Biology, Physiology, and Biotechnology Branch
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR)
Natcher Building, Room 4AN 18A
Bethesda, Maryland 20892-6402
Telephone: 301.594.2427 and Fax: 301.480.8318
kousvelari@de45.nidr.nih.gov