Staph ID/R: a rapid method for determining staphylococcus species identity and detecting the mecA gene directly from positive blood culture.

Rapid diagnosis of staphylococcal bacteremia directs appropriate antimicrobial therapy, leading to improved patient outcome. We describe herein a rapid test (<75 min) that can identify the major pathogenic strains of Staphylococcus to the species level as well as the presence or absence of the methicillin resistance determinant gene, mecA. The test, Staph ID/R, combines a rapid isothermal nucleic acid amplification method, helicase-dependent amplification (HDA), with a chip-based array that produces unambiguous visible results.

Aptamer-based multiplexed proteomic technology for biomarker discovery.

Background: The interrogation of proteomes ("proteomics") in a highly multiplexed and efficient manner remains a coveted and challenging goal in biology and medicine.

Methodology/principal Findings: We present a new aptamer-based proteomic technology for biomarker discovery capable of simultaneously measuring thousands of proteins from small sample volumes (15 µL of serum or plasma). Our current assay measures 813 proteins with low limits of detection (1 pM median), 7 logs of overall dynamic range (~100 fM-1 µM), and 5% median coefficient of variation.