β-lactamase enzymes inactivate β-lactam antibiotics and render them ineffective for the treatment of clinically-important Gram-negative bacterial infections. Now, two new kits from Streck Inc. provide a comprehensive, cost-effective molecular method to detect the most clinically-important β-lactamases that confer resistance to penicillins, cephamycins, and in some cases, carbapenems. The antibiotic resistance monitoring and detection (ARM-D) kits, are multiplex real-time PCR kits that can quickly detect more than 450 β-lactamase gene variants. The ARM-D Kit, β-Lactamase detects 9 different carbapenemases, ESBLs and plasmid-mediated ampC gene families. The ARM-D Kit, ampC kit targets 6 plasmid-mediated ampC resistance gene families and can differentiate plasmid-mediated ampC β-lactamase resistance from chromosomal resistance. These genotypic detection methods identify the most prevalent types of β-lactamase-based antibiotic resistance and complement phenotypic methods for the detection of multidrug resistant organisms. They can be used with standard susceptibility tests to improve surveillance and epidemiologic tracking, for improved infection control and increased effectiveness of antibiotic stewardship programmes. AmpC β-lactamases are chromosomally encoded in many bacterial species. Their overexpression can lead to resistance to most β-lactam antibiotics, causing therapeutic failure. Transmissible plasmids with acquired genes for AmpC β-lactamases often cause increased β-lactamase production and can appear in organisms lacking or having low-level expression of a chromosomal ampC gene. Resistance due to plasmid-mediated AmpC enzymes can be broad in spectrum and often hard to detect. As Gram-negative organisms producing multiple or plasmid-mediated β-lactamases are difficult to identify phenotypically, more specific detection methods are essential for the identification of clinically important β-lactamases and selection of the appropriate antibiotic therapy. Detection and genetic identification of both plasmid-mediated and chromosomally expressed AmpC β-lactamases are crucial for a better understanding of these resistance mechanisms and, consequently, for active surveillance and infection control.
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Now available to laboratories, the Atellica NEPH 630 System is a low- to mid-volume nephelometric protein testing solution that simplifies laboratory operations by unifying instrument, assay, IT connectivity and remote service disciplines to deliver advancements in protein testing. Nephelometry is a laboratory technique used to quantify specific levels of proteins found in blood and other bodily fluids. Information on the concentration of these proteins is important in assessing and monitoring cardiovascular risk, kidney diseases, neurological disorders, nutritional status and other diseases, such as multiple myeloma. While many systems only support protein level assessment on plasma or serum, the Atellica NEPH 630 System offers the broadest menu of protein tests for assessment of urine, cerebrospinal fluid, plasma and serum, enabling enhanced quantification of certain health conditions. Proven nephelometric technology provides high precision, reproducibility and pre-reaction protocols for high antigen-excess security. These are essential components for result accuracy and minimize the need for repeat testing. Because advanced antigen-excess checks, single-use cuvettes and kinetic curve displays are incorporated into the instrument, labs can report
results with confidence. To accommodate different testing volumes, the Atellica NEPH 630 System offers multiple reagent package sizes, resulting in less waste for laboratories. Additionally, lot-to-lot reagent consistency ensures concordance between results, providing physicians with greater insight into the patients’ disease progression. The Atellica NEPH 630 System streamlines workflow with highly intelligent software for secure, smart and simple testing. The instrument’s ability to integrate with the company’s process-management software—Atellica PM 1.0 Software—will minimize operator intervention, while providing insight into individual and multi-site lab workflow, enabling labs to spot trends and implement process changes for enhanced clinical, financial and operational efficiencies. The system also connects to Siemens Remote Service to help labs minimize downtime via remote monitoring and to provide rapid, efficient technical support when needed. To support multi-site labs, the Atellica NEPH 630 System offers result correlation with the company’s BN II System. Standardized reagents and consumables across both platforms enable high-volume and multisite labs to realize significant improvements in labour efficiency and cost savings.

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The Aquila 3-part differential hematology analyser (60 samples /hour throughput) can be used in many testing locations where high-quality complete blood count (CBC) results are desired. The instrument provides an optimal testing solution for both the experienced and inexperienced user, and practices which require a high-quality hematology analyser. Specifically designed for the decentralized laboratory and near-patient testing situations, this small analyser has low reagent consumption (<12ml), requires only a small sample size (20µl) and has a unique on-board reagent pack (sufficient for approximately 200 measurement cycles). With a small footprint, the analyser can be used in many locations, including small laboratories and in point-of-care applications. The low instrument reagent consumption coupled with its on-board reagent pack ensure that the shipping, storage and usage of reagents deliver enhanced ease of use as well as significant cost reductions. The newly available analyser, while requiring little bench space, features a large touch screen, an intuitive user interface, an optional back-up battery pack and extended connectivity options.
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H-FABP (Heart fatty acid binding protein, FABP3) is a sensitive biomarker for myocardial infarction (MI). H-FABP is released from cardiac myocytes following an ischemic episode and can be detected in the blood within one to three hours of chest pain onset. To identify myocardial infarction and acute coronary syndrome, a combination of H-FABP with troponin shows increased sensitivity over troponin alone in patients with chest pain onset. H-FABP also has prognostic value, as it is proved to be a statistically significant predictor of death or MI, independent of troponin T, ECG and clinical examination. The FABP3 assay has been validated for human serum, plasma, urine, cerebrospinal fluid, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, amniotic fluid and tissue homogenates and has a very high sensitivity (LOD 5.6 pg/ml). H-FABP is a small cytosolic protein expressed predominantly in the cardiac myocytes; it is found at much lower levels in skeletal muscle, kidney, liver and small intestine. H-FABP can quickly pass through the kidney and be measured noninvasively in urine.

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The DuraClone RE* antibody panels provide tools to study low frequency populations of either abnormal CD5+ B cells (RE CLB), abnormal plasma cells (RE PC) or abnormal B progenitor cells (RE ALB). The three new standardized, pre-formulated DuraClone RE* kits deliver high sensitivity for rare cell populations, able to accommodate either large sample volumes or high cellular concentrations. Using dry, unitized antibody combinations helps preserve the strict assay conditions essential for reliable, reproducible rare event analysis. The DuraClone family of dry reagents simplifies sample preparation and handling.  The panels eliminate errors from manual antibody pipetting, streamline workflow, improve turnaround time (TAT) and simplify inventory management. The kits are stable at room temperature, even when opened, and easy to transfer between laboratories. The first Duraclone standardized dry, pre-formulated panels were introduced in 2014, to support research into the human immune system.  Since then, the company has added DuraClone IM and IF panels for investigating immune profiles and function. While preserving strict assay conditions, which is integral to rare event analysis, the DuraClone RE* kits, produced in collaboration with experts from leading clinical research laboratories, enable streamlined workflow and standardization of results that are essential to the experimental robustness of longitudinal and multi-centric research into blood disorders. Internationally-recognized German clinical research scientists commented that the inclusion in the DuraClone RE CLB panels of ROR-1 as a new discriminative marker has markedly facilitated the screening for low frequencies of abnormal B cells and also that the DuraClone Panels provide a sensitive, analytically reliable and economic tool for the detection of minute, abnormal, plasma cell populations. DuraClone RE antibody panels are available in a convenient 25-test package containing three complete compensation kits specific for each panel. They offer the flexibility of additional antibody drop-in slots, making it possible to answer a customer’s specific questions. Further additions to the DuraClone product family are in development, including dry stimulation cocktails for functional assays.

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