The Forensic Toxicology Screening Application Solution with UNIFI delivers the sensitivity, reproducibility, and ease-of-use necessary to perform broad screening techniques on complex biological samples to identify drugs of abuse and other toxicants of interest. Now, for the first time, you will be able to reliably report the presence or absence of toxicological compounds of interest, easily streamline workflows, and increase the speed of analysis for complex matrices using the scientific library functionality and flexible reporting templates.

Work smarter and faster to analyze even the most challenging samples. Capture, process and analyze complex high-end mass spectrometry and chromatography data on a single software platform. Gain the ability to test and confirm the presence of compounds in a single measurement. Drastically increase workflow efficiency and improve data review and reporting time with pre-defined workflows. Transform your laboratory with the most innovative screening solution ever built for forensic toxicology testing.

• Reliably detect and report the presence of drugs and other compounds of interest, while minimizing both false positive and negative results
• Identify known and unknown compounds with the UNIFI Toxicology Scientific Library
• Build a historical record of sample analysis data for retrospective review as new challenges emerge
• Ensure compliance with best-in-class data security and traceability

The Toxicology Workflow summary provides a concise visual review of all compounds identified across the entire sample chromatogram. Information rich MSE data provides a complete set of high and low energy data which, combined with Waters comprehensive Toxicology compound library, enables the user to minimize false positives and confidently make identification and confirmation assessments on one screen.

Finnish healthcare company Biohit Oyj and Randox Laboratories have signed a licensing agreement which gives Randox the worldwide licensing rights for GastroPanel developed by Biohit. GastroPanel is a simple, non-invasive blood test for the diagnosis and screening of gastric disorders. GastroPanel test reliably detects H. pylori infection and damage or dysfunction of the stomach mucosa (atrophic gastritis), leading to acid-free stomach. According to the latest studies, non-acid stomach is a remarkable risk factor for gastric and esophageal cancer. GastroPanel is a non-invasive blood test that reliably identifies both healthy and unhealthy stomachs as well as helps to prioritize patients for further examinations. According to Biohit Oyj CEO Semi Korpela, “The combination of GastroPanel reagents with Randox analysers opens up new distribution possibilities for both companies”. Dr. Peter FitzGerald CBE, Managing Director of Randox, comments “The addition of the Biohit GastroPanel will add significantly to the range of diagnostic products we offer. Our ability to deliver these biomarkers to healthcare providers using our Biochip Array systems will enable diagnosis of gastric disorders in patients with dyspepsia ensuring appropriate further investigation and treatment and contribute to a reduction in healthcare costs. The GastroPanel will be offered in Randox analysers used in hospitals and reference laboratories through our global distribution network in 145 countries.”

www.biohithealthcare.comwww.randox.com

The Quo-Lab HbA1c point-of-care analyser has successfully achieved International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (IFCC) certification. The IFCC maintains the JCTLM (Joint Committee for Traceability in Laboratory Medicine) endorsed reference measurement procedure for HbA1c, accepted worldwide as the analytical control for traceability of HbA1c measurement. To participate in the programme manufacturers are required to register and report the results of 24 samples (two per month) from across the measurement range. The samples are supplied by an IFCC Reference Laboratory. Together with the existing NGSP certification achieved from 2012, the IFCC award demonstrates that Quo-Lab meets all of the demanding standards set by independent certifying bodies.  

www.ekfdiagnostics.com

Doctors commonly use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to diagnose tumours, damage from stroke, and many other medical conditions. Neuroscientists also rely on it as a research tool for identifying parts of the brain that carry out different cognitive functions.

Now, a team of biological engineers at MIT is trying to adapt MRI to a much smaller scale, allowing researchers to visualise gene activity inside the brains of living animals. Tracking these genes with MRI would enable scientists to learn more about how the genes control processes such as forming memories and learning new skills, says Alan Jasanoff, an MIT associate professor of biological engineering and leader of the research team.

‘The dream of molecular imaging is to provide information about the biology of intact organisms, at the molecule level,’ says Jasanoff, who is also an associate member of MIT’s McGovern Institute for Brain Research. ‘The goal is to not have to chop up the brain, but instead to actually see things that are happening inside.’

To help reach that goal, Jasanoff and colleagues have developed a new way to image a ‘reporter gene’ — an artificial gene that turns on or off to signal events in the body, much like an indicator light on a car’s dashboard. In the new study, the reporter gene encodes an enzyme that interacts with a magnetic contrast agent injected into the brain, making the agent visible with MRI. This approach allows researchers to determine when and where that reporter gene is turned on.
MRI uses magnetic fields and radio waves that interact with protons in the body to produce detailed images of the body’s interior. In brain studies, neuroscientists commonly use functional MRI to measure blood flow, which reveals which parts of the brain are active during a particular task. When scanning other organs, doctors sometimes use magnetic ‘contrast agents’ to boost the visibility of certain tissues.

The new MIT approach includes a contrast agent called a manganese porphyrin and the new reporter gene, which codes for a genetically engineered enzyme that alters the electric charge on the contrast agent. Jasanoff and colleagues designed the contrast agent so that it is soluble in water and readily eliminated from the body, making it difficult to detect by MRI. However, when the engineered enzyme, known as SEAP, slices phosphate molecules from the manganese porphyrin, the contrast agent becomes insoluble and starts to accumulate in brain tissues, allowing it to be seen.

The natural version of SEAP is found in the placenta, but not in other tissues. By injecting a virus carrying the SEAP gene into the brain cells of mice, the researchers were able to incorporate the gene into the cells’ own genome. Brain cells then started producing the SEAP protein, which is secreted from the cells and can be anchored to their outer surfaces. That’s important, Jasanoff says, because it means that the contrast agent doesn’t have to penetrate the cells to interact with the enzyme.

Researchers can then find out where SEAP is active by injecting the MRI contrast agent, which spreads throughout the brain but accumulates only near cells producing the SEAP protein.
In this study, which was designed to test this general approach, the detection system revealed only whether the SEAP gene had been successfully incorporated into brain cells. However, in future studies, the researchers intend to engineer the SEAP gene so it is only active when a particular gene of interest is turned on.

Jasanoff first plans to link the SEAP gene with so-called ‘early immediate genes,’ which are necessary for brain plasticity — the weakening and strengthening of connections between neurons, which is essential to learning and memory.

‘As people who are interested in brain function, the top questions we want to address are about how brain function changes patterns of gene expression in the brain,’ Jasanoff says. ‘We also imagine a future where we might turn the reporter enzyme on and off when it binds to neurotransmitters, so we can detect changes in neurotransmitter levels as well.’ MIT

The apolipoprotein E gene ε4 allele is considered a negative factor for neural regeneration in late-onset Alzheimer’s disease cases. Apolipoprotein E genotyping is crucial to apolipoprotein E polymorphism analysis. Peripheral venous blood is the conventional tissue source for apolipoprotein E genotyping polymorphism analysis. Blood yields high-quality genomic DNA and can meet various research purposes. However, because of invasiveness, taking blood samples decreases compliance among the elderly, especially neuropsychiatric patients. Moreover, blood specimens often need cold storage, thereby increasing the cost. A research team from Department of Neurology, Peking University Shenzhen Hospital in China pointed out a non-invasive and fast method to genotype large samples to help to elucidate the role of apolipoprotein E gene ε4 allele in neural regeneration in the cases with late-onset Alzheimer’s disease. Genomic DNA from mouth swab specimens was extracted using magnetic nanoparticles, and genotyping was performed by real-time PCR using TaqMan-BHQ probes. Genotyping accuracy was validated by DNA sequencing. The method developed for apolipoprotein E genotyping is accurate and reliable, and also suitable for genotyping large samples, which may help determine the role of the apolipoprotein E ε4 allele in neural regeneration in late-onset Alzheimer’s disease cases.

EurekAlert