Development and validation of an ELISA kit for the detection of ricin toxins from biological specimens and environmental samples.

Ricin is a toxin that can be easily extracted from seeds of Ricinus communis plants. Ricin is considered to be a major bio-threat as it can be freely and easily acquired in large quantities. A deliberate release of such toxin in civilian populations would very likely overwhelm existing public health systems, resulting in public fear and social unrest.

The cytotoxicity of mercury chloride to the keratinocytes is associated with metallothionein expression.

There are trace amounts of heavy metals in cosmetics. Heavy metals such as mercury (Hg), which is added to skin-whitening cosmetics, may cause acute or chronic damage to human cells. The aim of this study was to investigate the cytotoxicity of mercury chloride (HgCl) to human keratinocytes.

Double-antigen enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of hepatitis E virus-specific antibodies in human or swine sera.

A new double-antigen sandwich-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of total antibodies (immunoglobulin G [IgG] and IgM) specific for hepatitis E virus (HEV) was developed by utilizing well-characterized recombinant protein ET2.1 and its peroxidase-labeled counterpart. Our study showed that the ELISA detected all the positive patient samples (n = 265) regardless of whether they contained IgM or IgG antibodies, or both, while it maintained an excellent specificity of 98.

Evaluation of a new rapid immunochromatographic assay for serodiagnosis of acute hepatitis E infection.

A rapid and reliable diagnostic assay for acute hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection is needed. We evaluated a rapid, immunochromatographic assay for IgM antibodies to HEV (ASSURE HEV IgM Rapid Test) using acute-phase HEV samples (n = 200) from Indonesia and Nepal and convalescent-phase HEV samples (n = 70) from Nepal. Blood donors in Thailand (n = 100), individuals with hepatitis A (n = 80), hepatitis B (n = 45), and hepatitis C (n = 50) in Thailand and Nepal, acute-phase sera of individuals with Epstein-Barr virus infection (n = 20), and rheumatoid factor-positive blood (n = 26) served as negative controls.

Comparison of a new immunochromatographic test to enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for rapid detection of immunoglobulin m antibodies to hepatitis e virus in human sera.

An immunochromatographic test for rapid detection of IgM antibodies in patients with acute hepatitis E infection was developed utilizing the well-characterized recombinant protein EP2.1 and monoclonal antibody 4B2. The new rapid test based on a novel reverse-flow technology was able to generate a positive result within 2 to 3 min.

Sleep-related vagotonic effect of zolpidem in rats.

Rationale: Zolpidem is a relatively new nonbenzodiazepine sedative-hypnotic. The effects of zolpidem on autonomic functions remain unclear.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of zolpidem on sleep and related cardiac autonomic modulations as compared with triazolam in Wistar-Kyoto rats.

Use of viral lysate antigen combined with recombinant protein in Western immunoblot assay as confirmatory test for serodiagnosis of severe acute respiratory syndrome.

A Western immunoblot assay for confirmatory serodiagnosis of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) was developed utilizing viral lysate antigens combined with a recombinant nucleocapsid protein, GST-N (glutathione S-transferase-nucleocapsid) of the SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV). The viral lysate antigens were separated by electrophoresis and transblotted onto nitrocellulose membranes. The resultant membrane was subsequently added with the GST-N recombinant protein at a specific location.

Evaluation and validation of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and an immunochromatographic test for serological diagnosis of severe acute respiratory syndrome.

A newly developed severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was further validated to confirm cutoff values and evaluate its diagnostic performance with clinical samples. In parallel, an immunochromatographic test was also evaluated. A total of 227 clinical serum specimens collected from SARS patients were used in the study, together with 385 samples from healthy donors.

Recombinant protein-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunochromatographic tests for detection of immunoglobulin G antibodies to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus in SARS patients.

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and a rapid immunochromatographic test for detection of immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies in severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) patients were developed by utilizing the well-characterized recombinant proteins Gst-N and Gst-U274. The ELISA detected IgG antibodies to SARS-CoV in all 74 convalescent-phase samples from SARS patients while weakly cross-reacting to only 1 of the 210 control sera from healthy donors. This finding thus led to a kit sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 100, 99.