Patent ID: 8778619

Claim:
A method for diagnosing syphilis, comprising: contacting a biological sample from a subject with a multi-well plate, wherein the multi-well plate comprises oxidized cardiolipin that is immunoreactive with anti-lipoidal antibodies, wherein the oxidized cardiolipin comprises a central glycerol moiety and fatty acid side chains and is generated by a method comprising: reacting the cardiolipin with a periodate salt and a permanganate salt to oxidize alkene groups of fatty acid side chains of the cardiolipin to provide terminal carboxyl groups on one or more of the side chains; adding a reducing agent to the cardiolipin suspension after reacting the cardiolipin with the periodate salt and the permanganate salt to quench oxidation of the cardiolipin and to reduce a β-ketone formed in the central glycerol moeity to a β-hydroxyl group so as to retain immunogenicity of the central glycerol moiety; and activating the carboxyl groups of the oxidized cardiolipin to covalently attach a protein carrier to at least one of the carboxyl groups or to permit attachment of the oxidized cardiolipin to an amine; and detecting formation of a complex among an anti-lipoidal IgG, IgA, or IgM antibody in the biological sample and the oxidized cardiolipin on the solid support, wherein detection of the complex diagnoses syphilis.