A special heating bloc can reduce the handling time and costs of testing foods for pathogens, claims its France-based manufacturer.
BioMérieux claims its Vidas Heat and Go "significantly reduces technician handling time as well as material cost, while standardising a previously cumbersome step in pathogen detection".
The block is used on samples undergoing pathogen testing in bioMérieux's automated Vidas and mini Vidas systems.
"There is a clear need for improved productivity and traceability for microbiological control testing in the food industry and developing innovative solutions to address these needs is at the core of our strategy," stated Alexandre Mérieux, the company's corporate vice president for industrial microbiology.
Previously technicians used a boiling water bath asa typical protocol for heating food samples. Lab workers would manually label tubes and transfer samples in and out of the tubes and in and out of the boiling water bath.
"The Vidas Heat and Go dry heating block streamlines this process by eliminating the manual steps of labeling and transferring the sample tubes," the company claimed. "The use of a dry heating block offers food laboratories increased safety in pathogen detection."
The system also increases the traceability of sample results, eliminating the risk of mislabeling sample tubes. Additionally, the dry heating block ensures the appropriate temperature is maintained throughout the heating process, the company stated.
Showing posts with label pathogen detection. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pathogen detection. Show all posts
Sunday, December 30, 2007
New Point-Of-Care Technology For Detecting Bloodstream Infections Unveiled
Researchers at the UC Davis Health System and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have entered into a collaborative effort to develop two ‘Point-Of-Care’ (POC) prototype instruments for the detection of pathogens causing bloodstream infections, one in hospital settings and the other, a field portable device, for disaster management camps. The team, led by Gerald Kost, Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, and Director of the Point-of-Care Testing Center for Teaching and Research (POCT-CTR), will develop these novel devices using the elementary technologies of other LLNL-developed instruments, such as the Autonomous Pathogen Detection System, designed for protection against bioterrorism. The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) has already granted a fund of around $8.5 million for the development of these devices.
DNA chip can catch eye disease pathogens
Hyderabad, Dec. 22An indigenously-developed DNA Chip which can pinpoint the culprit organism that is causing a particular eye disease in the shortest possible time has hit the commercial market.
Bangalore-based XCyton Diagnostics has launched the DNA macro chip, a molecular diagnostic kit, for identifying a range of pathogens causing eye diseases in the country recently.
The Managing Director of XCyton, Dr B.V. Ravi Kumar, said the company has created a Rs 3-crore facility in Bangalore to develop a range of DNA-based diagnostic products using this new platform. Work is on to develop a Deoxyribonucleac Acid (DNA)-based kit to detect Septecemia and a range of fevers like dengue, chikungunya, and typhoid, wherein early detection of the virus was key to managing the disease.
Awareness programme
XCyton, a product development company in human diagnostics, which has brought several diagnostic products for HIV, and Hepatitis C among others, has launched an awareness programme for doctors and clinicians on the new product. It is offering services to laboratories as well, Dr Ravi told Business Line.
Scientists from the Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology (CCMB) along with clinicians at the L V Prasad Eye Institute, both in Hyderabad; from Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai, and the RP Centre, New Delhi, have under the New Millennium Indian Technology Leadership Initiative (NMITLI) programme of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), developed the DNA based diagnostic chip.
According to Dr Ch Mohan Rao, Deputy Director of CCMB, eye infections are the major causes of eye diseases and subsequent impairment of vision. Most of these diseases are curable, provided the infecting agent is identified at an early stage.
Common method
At present, the widely used method for detecting the infecting organisms is microbial culture. However, this process is time-consuming and the results are not immediately available to clinicians for making treatment decisions, he said.
Scientists have exploited the fact that by deploying the PCR method it is possible to detect the unique regions on a pathogen’s DNA, which can then be used as a signature. PCR methods are more sensitive and rapid.
M. Somasekhar
Bangalore-based XCyton Diagnostics has launched the DNA macro chip, a molecular diagnostic kit, for identifying a range of pathogens causing eye diseases in the country recently.
The Managing Director of XCyton, Dr B.V. Ravi Kumar, said the company has created a Rs 3-crore facility in Bangalore to develop a range of DNA-based diagnostic products using this new platform. Work is on to develop a Deoxyribonucleac Acid (DNA)-based kit to detect Septecemia and a range of fevers like dengue, chikungunya, and typhoid, wherein early detection of the virus was key to managing the disease.
Awareness programme
XCyton, a product development company in human diagnostics, which has brought several diagnostic products for HIV, and Hepatitis C among others, has launched an awareness programme for doctors and clinicians on the new product. It is offering services to laboratories as well, Dr Ravi told Business Line.
Scientists from the Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology (CCMB) along with clinicians at the L V Prasad Eye Institute, both in Hyderabad; from Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai, and the RP Centre, New Delhi, have under the New Millennium Indian Technology Leadership Initiative (NMITLI) programme of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), developed the DNA based diagnostic chip.
According to Dr Ch Mohan Rao, Deputy Director of CCMB, eye infections are the major causes of eye diseases and subsequent impairment of vision. Most of these diseases are curable, provided the infecting agent is identified at an early stage.
Common method
At present, the widely used method for detecting the infecting organisms is microbial culture. However, this process is time-consuming and the results are not immediately available to clinicians for making treatment decisions, he said.
Scientists have exploited the fact that by deploying the PCR method it is possible to detect the unique regions on a pathogen’s DNA, which can then be used as a signature. PCR methods are more sensitive and rapid.
M. Somasekhar
Monday, December 17, 2007
Nanotechnology candy to thwart bioterrorism and food contamination
(Nanowerk Spotlight) Talking about the threat of terrorists using bioweapons is a great tool for scaring people. Using any kind of pathogen (bacterium, virus or other disease-causing organism) as a weapon certainly is a terrifying scenario; think about the near-panic the 2001 anthrax attacks in the United States caused.
Letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to several news media offices and two U.S. Senators, killing five people and infecting 17 others. Can you image what panic would result from an attack that kills 5,000 people and causes 76 million illnesses?
Well, as a matter of fact, foodborne diseases cause approximately 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths in the United States each year. Known pathogens account for an estimated 14 million illnesses, 60,000 hospitalizations, and 1,800 deaths (CDC data).
The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) 2005 Food Code states that the estimated cost of foodborne illness is $10–$83 billion annually (source). So while the U.S. spends billions of dollars securing its borders, it loses many more billions, not to mention thousands of lives, every year by not being able to keep its spinach and hamburgers safe.
Apparently, talking about terrorism is much better political theater (and makes for catchier Nanowerk Spotlight titles) than discussing E. coli outbreaks. However, be it because of potential terrorists or actual contaminated food, research in microbial detection and decontamination processes increased significantly over the past years. Traditional methods of identifying and subsequently removing a pathogen are slow and cumbersome. Now, using nanotechnology, researchers have designed a novel biosensing system that can identify E. coli in just five minutes and remove up to 88% of the target bacteria.
Traditionally, identifying a pathogen such as E. coli, Salmonella or Listeria requires cell culturing, which takes time – time that often means more contamination and illnesses or even deaths.
Here is an example from the FDA's recommended method for determining E. coli:
Weigh 50 g food into sterile high-speed blender jar. Add 450 mL of Butterfield's phosphate-buffered water and blend for 2 min. Prepare decimal dilutions with sterile Butterfield's phosphate diluent. Number of dilutions to be prepared depends on anticipated coliform density. Shake all suspensions 25 times in 30 cm arc or vortex mix for 7 s. Do not use pipets to deliver <10% of their total volume. Transfer 1 mL portions to 3 LST tubes for each dilution for at least 3 consecutive dilutions. Hold pipet at angle so that its lower edge rests against the tube. Let pipet drain 2-3 s. Not more than 15 min should elapse from time the sample is blended until all dilutions are inoculated in appropriate media. Incubate LST tubes at 35°C. Examine tubes and record reactions at 24 ± 2 h for gas, i.e., displacement of medium in fermentation vial or effervescence when tubes are gently agitated. Re-incubate gas-negative tubes for an additional 24 h and examine and record reactions again at 48 ± 2 h. Perform confirmed test on all presumptive positive tubes (which takes another 2 days).
It is a nobrainer that a detection system that takes days to positively identify a potentially deadly pathogen contamination is not good enough. What is urgently needed is a rapid way to detect the presence of a pathogen as well as the strain identity. That's were nanotechnology techniques could come to the rescue.
"We demonstrate the potential of sugar-coated magnetic nanoparticles for fast bacterial detection and removal, which provides an attractive avenue for pathogen decontamination and diagnostic applications" Dr. Xuefei Huang tells Nanowerk.
Huang, an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Toledo, together with his collaborators from the university, developed a magnetic glyco-nanoparticle (MGNP)-based system to not only detect E. coli within 5 minutes, but also to remove up to 88% of the target bacteria from the medium. This system also allows easy determination of the identities of three different E. coli strains on the basis of the response patterns to two MGNPs highlighting their potential in biosensing.
The findings have been reported in a recent article in the Journal of the American Chemical Society ("Magnetic Glyco-nanoparticles: A Unique Tool for Rapid Pathogen Detection, Decontamination, and Strain Differentiation").
Huang and his team decided to use magnetic nanoparticles since their high surface/volume ratio offers more contact surface area for attaching carbohydrates and for capturing pathogens. Nanoparticles typically are about two orders of magnitude smaller than a bacterium, allowing many nanoparticles to attach to a bacterial cell, which aids in removing the bacteria.
"Pathogens such as bacteria and viruses often have a 'sweet tooth' which allows them to bind with mammalian cell surface carbohydrates to initiate infection" Huang explains. "To mimic this effect, we decorated the surface of MGNPs with carbohydrate moieties capable of binding surface recognition elements. This leads to particles with robust recognition capabilities and with the advantage of being magnetic."
Letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to several news media offices and two U.S. Senators, killing five people and infecting 17 others. Can you image what panic would result from an attack that kills 5,000 people and causes 76 million illnesses?
Well, as a matter of fact, foodborne diseases cause approximately 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths in the United States each year. Known pathogens account for an estimated 14 million illnesses, 60,000 hospitalizations, and 1,800 deaths (CDC data).
The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) 2005 Food Code states that the estimated cost of foodborne illness is $10–$83 billion annually (source). So while the U.S. spends billions of dollars securing its borders, it loses many more billions, not to mention thousands of lives, every year by not being able to keep its spinach and hamburgers safe.
Apparently, talking about terrorism is much better political theater (and makes for catchier Nanowerk Spotlight titles) than discussing E. coli outbreaks. However, be it because of potential terrorists or actual contaminated food, research in microbial detection and decontamination processes increased significantly over the past years. Traditional methods of identifying and subsequently removing a pathogen are slow and cumbersome. Now, using nanotechnology, researchers have designed a novel biosensing system that can identify E. coli in just five minutes and remove up to 88% of the target bacteria.
Traditionally, identifying a pathogen such as E. coli, Salmonella or Listeria requires cell culturing, which takes time – time that often means more contamination and illnesses or even deaths.
Here is an example from the FDA's recommended method for determining E. coli:
Weigh 50 g food into sterile high-speed blender jar. Add 450 mL of Butterfield's phosphate-buffered water and blend for 2 min. Prepare decimal dilutions with sterile Butterfield's phosphate diluent. Number of dilutions to be prepared depends on anticipated coliform density. Shake all suspensions 25 times in 30 cm arc or vortex mix for 7 s. Do not use pipets to deliver <10% of their total volume. Transfer 1 mL portions to 3 LST tubes for each dilution for at least 3 consecutive dilutions. Hold pipet at angle so that its lower edge rests against the tube. Let pipet drain 2-3 s. Not more than 15 min should elapse from time the sample is blended until all dilutions are inoculated in appropriate media. Incubate LST tubes at 35°C. Examine tubes and record reactions at 24 ± 2 h for gas, i.e., displacement of medium in fermentation vial or effervescence when tubes are gently agitated. Re-incubate gas-negative tubes for an additional 24 h and examine and record reactions again at 48 ± 2 h. Perform confirmed test on all presumptive positive tubes (which takes another 2 days).
It is a nobrainer that a detection system that takes days to positively identify a potentially deadly pathogen contamination is not good enough. What is urgently needed is a rapid way to detect the presence of a pathogen as well as the strain identity. That's were nanotechnology techniques could come to the rescue.
"We demonstrate the potential of sugar-coated magnetic nanoparticles for fast bacterial detection and removal, which provides an attractive avenue for pathogen decontamination and diagnostic applications" Dr. Xuefei Huang tells Nanowerk.
Huang, an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Toledo, together with his collaborators from the university, developed a magnetic glyco-nanoparticle (MGNP)-based system to not only detect E. coli within 5 minutes, but also to remove up to 88% of the target bacteria from the medium. This system also allows easy determination of the identities of three different E. coli strains on the basis of the response patterns to two MGNPs highlighting their potential in biosensing.
The findings have been reported in a recent article in the Journal of the American Chemical Society ("Magnetic Glyco-nanoparticles: A Unique Tool for Rapid Pathogen Detection, Decontamination, and Strain Differentiation").
Huang and his team decided to use magnetic nanoparticles since their high surface/volume ratio offers more contact surface area for attaching carbohydrates and for capturing pathogens. Nanoparticles typically are about two orders of magnitude smaller than a bacterium, allowing many nanoparticles to attach to a bacterial cell, which aids in removing the bacteria.
"Pathogens such as bacteria and viruses often have a 'sweet tooth' which allows them to bind with mammalian cell surface carbohydrates to initiate infection" Huang explains. "To mimic this effect, we decorated the surface of MGNPs with carbohydrate moieties capable of binding surface recognition elements. This leads to particles with robust recognition capabilities and with the advantage of being magnetic."
New Point-Of-Care Technology For Detecting Bloodstream Infections Unveiled
December 4th, 2007 by The MediNEWS Team
Researchers at the UC Davis Health System and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have entered into a collaborative effort to develop two ‘Point-Of-Care’ (POC) prototype instruments for the detection of pathogens causing bloodstream infections, one in hospital settings and the other, a field portable device, for disaster management camps. The team, led by Gerald Kost, Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, and Director of the Point-of-Care Testing Center for Teaching and Research (POCT-CTR), will develop these novel devices using the elementary technologies of other LLNL-developed instruments, such as the Autonomous Pathogen Detection System, designed for protection against bioterrorism. The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) has already granted a fund of around $8.5 million for the development of these devices.
Researchers at the UC Davis Health System and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have entered into a collaborative effort to develop two ‘Point-Of-Care’ (POC) prototype instruments for the detection of pathogens causing bloodstream infections, one in hospital settings and the other, a field portable device, for disaster management camps. The team, led by Gerald Kost, Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, and Director of the Point-of-Care Testing Center for Teaching and Research (POCT-CTR), will develop these novel devices using the elementary technologies of other LLNL-developed instruments, such as the Autonomous Pathogen Detection System, designed for protection against bioterrorism. The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) has already granted a fund of around $8.5 million for the development of these devices.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
New kit cuts pathogen detection time down to hours
Scientists who claim to have developed what they say is the fastest food detector of its kind have received funding to mass produce their discovery.
Scientists who claim to have developed what they say is the fastest food detector of its kind have received funding to mass produce their discovery.
Scotland's Macaulay Institute said this week the scientists plan to roll out technology by 2010 that will cut detection times for food pathogens such as Campylobacter, Listeria and Salmonella to five hours from six days.
Cutting pathogen detection time is one of the holy grails of food microbiology. Brining down detection times to hours can help managers prevent contaminated foods from reaching consumers.
Brajesh Singh, who leads the project at the Institue, said the new technology could prevent many food poisoning outbreaks.
"The conventional methods for detecting food contamination used by industries and regulatory agencies are labour intensive, time consuming and costly," he stated.
"Our proposed technology offers for the first time, at low cost, the simultaneous detection of multiple contaminants within five to eight hours, and has the potential to revolutionise the food safety industry and save lives through prevention of food poisoning epidemics."
Seeded with £246,000 from the Scottish Enterprise's 'Proof of Concept' programme, the scientists aim is sell the detection kit worldwide by 2010 via a spin-out company.
The new company will also provide food sample analyse services and develop other similar technologies.
The test kit works by analysing a food sample for specific food pathogens, the Macaulay Institute stated.
The kit can be used to detect multiple microbial contaminants in food, water and environmental samples.
"This unique method allows dual detection of pathogens and determines if they are capable of producing toxins or whether they have antibiotic resistance," the Institute added. "It offers improved diagnostic potential to identify the source of contamination and therefore save lives."
Singh stated that the device is sensitive enough to accurately determine the level of contamination - which is a limitation of present methodologies.
"We believe that this technology provides a real opportunity to make Scotland a world-leader in microbial diagnostics and industrial microbiology," he stated.
While the new company will initially focus on contaminant detection in food and the environment, the kit has wider applications and will be attractive to healthcare, forensic and remediation industries, he noted.
"The project will allow Scotland to compete with North America and Continental Europe in this growing market, which estimates suggest will be worth US$2.4 billion by 2010 for the food sector alone," he stated.
The scientists will used the funding to develop a proof of concept, then once the technology is adjusted it will be licensed to a range of industries or service providers in microbial diagnostics.
The detection technology will also be marketed through a spin-off company that will manufacture the necessary kits and create a service centre for the UK.
The project also involves Colin Campbell and Fiona Moore of the Macaulay Institute, and Iain Ogden from the University of Aberdeen.
Scientists who claim to have developed what they say is the fastest food detector of its kind have received funding to mass produce their discovery.
Scotland's Macaulay Institute said this week the scientists plan to roll out technology by 2010 that will cut detection times for food pathogens such as Campylobacter, Listeria and Salmonella to five hours from six days.
Cutting pathogen detection time is one of the holy grails of food microbiology. Brining down detection times to hours can help managers prevent contaminated foods from reaching consumers.
Brajesh Singh, who leads the project at the Institue, said the new technology could prevent many food poisoning outbreaks.
"The conventional methods for detecting food contamination used by industries and regulatory agencies are labour intensive, time consuming and costly," he stated.
"Our proposed technology offers for the first time, at low cost, the simultaneous detection of multiple contaminants within five to eight hours, and has the potential to revolutionise the food safety industry and save lives through prevention of food poisoning epidemics."
Seeded with £246,000 from the Scottish Enterprise's 'Proof of Concept' programme, the scientists aim is sell the detection kit worldwide by 2010 via a spin-out company.
The new company will also provide food sample analyse services and develop other similar technologies.
The test kit works by analysing a food sample for specific food pathogens, the Macaulay Institute stated.
The kit can be used to detect multiple microbial contaminants in food, water and environmental samples.
"This unique method allows dual detection of pathogens and determines if they are capable of producing toxins or whether they have antibiotic resistance," the Institute added. "It offers improved diagnostic potential to identify the source of contamination and therefore save lives."
Singh stated that the device is sensitive enough to accurately determine the level of contamination - which is a limitation of present methodologies.
"We believe that this technology provides a real opportunity to make Scotland a world-leader in microbial diagnostics and industrial microbiology," he stated.
While the new company will initially focus on contaminant detection in food and the environment, the kit has wider applications and will be attractive to healthcare, forensic and remediation industries, he noted.
"The project will allow Scotland to compete with North America and Continental Europe in this growing market, which estimates suggest will be worth US$2.4 billion by 2010 for the food sector alone," he stated.
The scientists will used the funding to develop a proof of concept, then once the technology is adjusted it will be licensed to a range of industries or service providers in microbial diagnostics.
The detection technology will also be marketed through a spin-off company that will manufacture the necessary kits and create a service centre for the UK.
The project also involves Colin Campbell and Fiona Moore of the Macaulay Institute, and Iain Ogden from the University of Aberdeen.
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