A ground-breaking test for the potentially fatal 2019-nCoV strain of coronavirus, is in the final stages of development at global health diagnostics company Randox Laboratories. The soon-to-be-launched test, developed on Randox’s patented Biochip Technology, will be available for immediate SARS-COV-2 testing, but an additional enhanced multiplex array will also include tests for other respiratory viruses which can display the same symptoms. The new enhanced Biochip will therefore allow clinicians to quickly and efficiently differentiate between potentially lethal and non-lethal infections.
Dr Peter FitzGerald, Managing Director of Randox Laboratories, commented; “Current technologies for the diagnosis of coronavirus are designed simply to detect the presence or lack of 2019-nCoV, and therefore neglect to differentiate between this strain and other respiratory infections. Whilst we’re very quickly developing an efficient novel test for this new strain of coronavirus, we are therefore also working on an extended Viral Respiratory Infection Array that will test simultaneously for 2019-nCoV and a range of other viruses. This will eliminate the need for multiple back-and-forth tests before the root cause of symptoms is found, and empower clinicians to make fast and informed decisions.” The test will be available for the Point of Care analyser, the Vivalytic, within 3 hours, and within 5 hours on the Randox Evidence Investigator. Benefits of the new Randox SARS-COV-2 test

• Quick Turnaround Times (3 hours on Vivalytic and 5 hours on Evidence Investigator)
• Multiplex array differentiates between mild and serious infection
• Automated and Semi-Automated options available

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CE marking has been granted to one of the most comprehensive cartridge-based STI tests. The test, developed by the UK’s largest health diagnostics company, Randox Laboratories, tests simultaneously for 10 of the most common sexually transmitted infections, on the firm’s patented Biochip Technology. Quickly and efficiently testing for multiple STIs, which often have mild symptoms if any at all, ensures early diagnosis at a stage when treatment is most successful, supports the targeted use of antibiotics, and ultimately reduces their mishandling. Dr Peter FitzGerald, Managing Director of Randox Laboratories, commented; “Antibiotic stewardship is a critical issue which we all have a responsibility to embrace and drive forward. The CE marking of the STI assay, which incorporates Randox Biochip Technology, will be a game-changer for clinicians and patients across Europe, by facilitating early, accurate and comprehensive diagnoses of STIs that allows for the best possible patient outcome. Never before has there been this level of accessibility and speed with regards to STI testing.”
The Randox STI assay is performed on the Vivalytic system, an intuitive point-of-care platform, developed in partnership with German technology company Bosch that provides the broadest range of test options ever seen for an analyser of its size. Harnessing the application of multiplex assays to provide greater information from a single patient sample, the Vivalytic simplifies the testing process for otherwise complex laboratory testing procedures.
Marc Meier, Managing Director of Bosch Healthcare Solutions, a subsidiary of Bosch Group, said: “We are enthusiastic about partnering with Randox to offer their assay technology on the Vivalytic platform. The core competencies of Bosch in automation, miniaturization, sensor technology and connectivity are complemented by Randox’s expertise in developing excellent biocontent for a wide range of assays and commercializing innovative diagnostic solutions.”
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Handheld electrochemical sensors are part of the daily routine for millions of people with diabetes around the globe who monitor their blood sugar levels with electric glucometers. While such sensors have revolutionized at-home medical testing for diabetics, they have not yet been successfully applied to diagnosing other conditions.
Sensors like glucometers detect glucose in blood based on the activity of an enzyme, and there are only a limited number of enzymes that can be used to sense biomarkers of human disease. An alternative detection strategy based on binding events between antibodies and their molecular targets have been investigated to expand the use of electrochemical sensors for medicine, but these sensors fall victim to the rapid accumulation of “fouling” substances from biological fluids on their conductive surfaces, which deactivate them. Existing antifouling coatings are difficult to mass-manufacture, suffer from quality and consistency issues, and are not very effective. Now, a new diagnostic platform technology developed by researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University known as “eRapid” enables the creation of low-cost, handheld electrochemical devices that can simultaneously detect a broad range of biomarkers with high sensitivity and selectivity in complex biological fluids, using as little as a single drop of blood. The technology is described in Nature Nanotechnology.
“As long as an antibody exists for a given target molecule, eRapid can detect it,” said co-author Pawan Jolly, Ph.D., a Senior Research Scientist at the Wyss Institute. “By solving the biofouling problem with a simple yet robust design, we are now able to easily mass-produce biochemical sensors for a wide variety of applications at low-cost.” The team demonstrated the commercial utility of this approach by creating a multiplexed sensor with three separate electrodes, each coated with the BSA/gold nanowire matrix and a layer of antibodies against a specific clinically relevant target molecule: interleukin 6 (IL6), insulin, or glucagon. When they incubated the sensor with the respective target molecules in undiluted human plasma, they observed excellent electrical signals with picogramper- mL sensitivity. Conversely, electrodes coated with a published “PEG-SAM” anti-fouling coating failed to produce distinct signals, indicating that they had been irreversibly fouled by off-target molecules in human plasma samples. In addition, the BSA/gold-nanowire-coated sensors can be washed and reused multiple times with minimal signal loss, allowing serial monitoring of biomarkers easily and at low cost.
Since then, the Wyss team has been able to detect more than a dozen different biomarkers ranging from 100 Da to 150,000 Da in size with eRapid, and they are continuing to experiment with conductive nanomaterials to optimize the electrode coating and the system’s performance, as well as reduce the cost even further.
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Shimadzu’s iMLayer boosts spatial resolution for MS imaging experiments. It enables reproducible matrix coating with small crystals and minimizes delocalization effects. Get a crystal clear view of microstructures in your sample.
Features

• Creation of fine matrix crystals by unique matrix vapor deposition technology (sublimation) enabling high resolution MS imaging experiments
• Minimized delocalization effects compared to conventional spraying method due to sublimation technique
• Good reproducibility through automated matrix layer thickness control
• Simple touch pad operation making the easy-to-use standalone instrument a sample preparation tool for any MS imaging experiment

For information please click here.
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