In this study, we developed and analytically validated a fully automated, robust confirmation sensitive capillary electrophoresis (CSCE) method to perform mutation scanning of the large SACS gene. This method facilitates a rapid and cost-effective molecular diagnosis of autosomal recessive spastic ataxia of Charlevoix-Saguenay. Critical issues addressed during the development of the CSCE system...

Urinary histoplasma antigen measurement can be useful for diagnosing systemic histoplasmosis and for monitoring treatment response, especially in immunocompromised patients. However, testing has traditionally been limited to specialized reference laboratories, as immunoassay reagents for the antigen were not widely available. Recently, a polyclonal-antibody-based in vitro diagnostic (IVD) kit f...

Statistical principles for analytical goal-setting were applied to two medical applications of drug-monitoring data: (a) individualizing dosage requirements by reference to a population-based therapeutic range or to a patient-specific decision value determined by Bayesian decision analysis, and (b) prospective dosing by using pharmaco-kinetic principles. For application a, the analytical goal f...

The sensitivity and specificity to detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex of four Real Time PCR primer-probe sets was compared. Three sets targeted nearly the same location on the IS6110 sequence and set 4 targeted a location 200 bp downstream on IS6110. Real Time PCR's with sets 1, 2 and 3 were carried out with co-amplification of a modified target as an internal amplification control. By t...

While size has been widely used as a parameter in cellular separations, in this communication we show how shape and deformability, a mainly untapped source of specificity in preparative and analytical microfluidic devices can be measured and used to separate cells.

This procedure for determining serum proline in patients with hyperprolinemia involves protein precipitation (Folin-Wu method), color development with isatin, extraction of the color with methylene chloride and measurement of its absorbance at 600 nm. The specificity and analytical recovery show the method to be suitable for this use.

BACKGROUND Anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP) antibody is emerging as an important diagnostic marker for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We evaluated the analytical and diagnostic performance of the ARCHITECT anti-CCP (Abbott Diagnostics), a new fully automated chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay. METHODS Serum samples from 69 patients with RA and 86 non-RA patients were used to evalua...

A single-step, multiplex, real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was developed for the simultaneous and differential laboratory diagnosis of Classical swine fever virus (CSFV) and African swine fever virus (ASFV) alongside an exogenous internal control RNA (IC-RNA). Combining a single extraction methodology and primer and probe sets for detection of the three target nucleic acids CSFV, AS...

AIM Autoantibodies against cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) are considered to be a sensitive and specific marker for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This study evaluated the diagnostic and analytical performances of the automated anti-CCP assay. MATERIALS AND METHOD Sera from 80 patients with established RA, 65 from other rheumatic diseases (non-RA) and 55 from healthy controls were studied...

The biological function of glycosphingolipids (GSLs) is largely determined by their glycan headgroup moiety. This has placed a renewed emphasis on detailed GSL headgroup structural analysis. Comprehensive profiling of GSL headgroups in biological samples requires the use of endoglycoceramidases with broad substrate specificity and a robust workflow that enables their high-throughput analysis. W...