Patent ID: 8124363

Claim:
A method for detecting Trichomonas in a vagina of a female mammal that comprises: inserting a diagnostic device into a test subject's vagina, the diagnostic device including a core and a reporter enzyme that is linked directly or indirectly to the core by a linker, the linker being a polypeptide comprising a cleavage site selected from the group consisting of an Arg-Arg cleavage site, a Phe-Arg cleavage site, a Val-Leu-Lys cleavage site, a Ala-Phe-Lys cleavage site, a Pro-Phe-Arg cleavage site, and a Leu-Val-Tyr cleavage site, or the linker being an ester of the structure: X—CH 2 —O—CO-alkyl wherein X is an alkylene or a triglyceride, or the linker being 2′-(4-methylumbelliferyl)-alpha-D-N-acetylneuramic acid, retaining the device in the vagina for a time sufficient for reaction of a Trichomonas -specific enzyme with the linker, the Trichomonas -specific enzyme cleaving the linker and releasing the reporter enzyme, removing the device from the test subject's vagina, and dipping the device into a solution containing a substrate for the reporter enzyme to detect Trichomonas in the vagina of the test subject.