Magnetic field-enhanced agglutination as a readout for rapid serologic assays with human plasma.

Recent virus outbreaks have revealed a critical need for large scale serological assays. However, many available tests either require a cumbersome, costly apparatus or lack the availability of full automation. In order to address these limitations, we describe a homogeneous assay for antibody detection via measurement of superparamagnetic particles agglutination.

Diagnostic Performance of a Magnetic Field-Enhanced Agglutination Readout in Detecting Either Viral Genomes or Host Antibodies in Arbovirus Infection.

Arbovirus diagnostics on blood from donors and travelers returning from endemic areas is increasingly important for better patient management and epidemiological surveillance. We developed a flexible approach based on a magnetic field-enhanced agglutination (MFEA) readout to detect either genomes or host-derived antibodies. Dengue viruses (DENVs) were selected as models.

Rapid and specific DNA detection by magnetic field-enhanced agglutination assay.

The detection of DNA molecules by agglutination assays has suffered from a lack of specificity. The specificity can be improved by introducing a hybridization step with a specific probe. We developed a setting that captured biotinylated DNA targets between magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) grafted with tetrathiolated probes and anti-biotin antibodies.

Automation and developmental validation of the ForenSeq DNA Signature Preparation kit for high-throughput analysis in forensic laboratories.

Massively parallel sequencing (MPS) applications in forensic science highlight the advantages of this technique compared to capillary electrophoresis (CE). The multiplexing of a wide range of genetic markers and access to the full amplicon sequence, allowing the detection of isoalleles, make it a very promising tool which could be applied to the most challenging casework DNA samples. However, the complexity of the manual library preparation protocol, potential DNA contamination and sample tracking issues are the main reasons why forensic scientists still hesitate to implement MPS analytical workflows in their laboratory.

Spontaneous and evoked release of met-enkephalin-like material from the spinal cord of arthritic rats in vivo.

Perfusion of the intrathecal space with artificial CSF was achieved in control and arthritic rats under halothane anaesthesia in order to collect the met-enkephalin-like material (MELM) released from the whole spinal cord. On the fourth week following the intradermal injection of Freund's adjuvant to induce arthritis, a marked reduction (-56%) in the spontaneous outflow of MELM was noted in arthritic rats. This effect did not involve changes in the degradation process of MELM, since it persisted when kelatorphan was added to the perfusing fluid in order to inhibit completely the peptidases acting on met-enkephalin.