Development and characterization of chimera of yellow fever virus vaccine strain and Tick-Borne encephalitis virus.

Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) is one of the most threatening pathogens which affects the human central nervous system (CNS). TBEV circulates widely in Northern Eurasia. According to ECDC, the number of TBE cases increase annually.

Miniature PCR based portable bioaerosol monitor development.

Aims: A portable bioaerosol monitor is greatly demanded technology in many areas including air quality control, occupational exposure assessment and health risk evaluation, environmental studies and, especially, in defence and bio-terrorism applications. Our recent groundwork allowed us to formulate the concept of a portable bioaerosol monitor, which needs to be light, user friendly, reliable and capable of detecting airborne pathogens within 1-1·5 h on the spot.

Methods And Results: Conceptually, the event of a bioaerosol concentration burst is determined by triggers to commence the representative air sampling with sequential real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) confirmation of the targeted micro-organism present in the air.

Surface plasmon resonance-based bacterial aerosol detection.

Aims: In the area of bioaerosol research, rapid methods for precise detection attracted much interest over last decades. One of such technologies operating in nearly real-time mode without any specific labelling is known as surface plasmon resonance (SPR). Recently, we validated a SPR protocol in conjunction with our earlier developed personal bioaerosol sampler for rapid detection of airborne viruses.

Surface plasmon resonance-based real-time bioaerosol detection.

Aims: Rapid and precise bioaerosol detection in different environments has become an important research and technological issue over last decades. Previously, we employed a real-time PCR protocol in conjunction with personal bioaerosol sampler for rapid detection of airborne viruses. The approach has been proved to be specific and sensitive.

[Molecular genetic characteristics of the newcastle disease virus velogenic strains isolated in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Kirghizia].

The F gene fragment of 79 Newcastle disease virus (NDV) strains isolated from domestic and synanthropic birds in Kazakhstan, Kirghizia, Ukraine, and Russia in 1993 to 2007 was comparatively analyzed. Phylogenetic analysis of test isolates and reference NDV strains obtained from the GenBank was carried out by polymerase chain reaction with subsequent sequencing and comparative analysis of 154-bp nucleotide sequences in the main functional region of the F gene. All newly characterized isolates belong to three NDV genotype VII subgroups: VIIa, VIIb, VIId.