The Ani Labsystems/Tecan Neonatal platform is a high throughput system intended for quantitative analysis of neonatal screening samples on 96-well microplates. The instrument is fully automated – all the operator has to do is to place the plates containing the dried blood spot samples on the instrument. Processing steps include: dispensing of reagents, elution of samples, incubation, removing of disks, washing, transfer of liquid samples, measuring, calculation of results and data reporting. Apart from the reagents, no extra consumables (e.g. pipette tips) are needed, which keeps running costs to a minimum. The unique liquid handling system allows analysis of both the ELISAbased assays as well as the enzymatic assays on the same platform. The highly sensitive fluorimetric detection guarantees excellent performance and a large linear range. The neonatal screens available include PKU, TSH, 17-OHP, Toxo-IgM, GAL, G6PD, (IRT to be released soon).
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These innovative new ultra-low temperature (ULT) freezers have been designed to provide laboratories with an energy efficient approach to cold storage. The Thermo Scientific Revco UxF Series incorporates users’ choice of high-performance or energy saving modes, which are easily selected via the intuitive touch-screen interface. This new range of freezers provides outstanding sample protection while using significantly less energy than previous generation models. The series helps laboratories to obtain an energy-efficient approach to maintaining sample viability during long- and short-term cold storage. In addition to providing efficient operation, the series offers temperature uniformity throughout the internal chamber. As a result, users can maximise the use of all available space with the knowledge that all samples will be held at the pre-set optimal temperature.
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Dengue, a disease occurring in tropical and sub-tropical areas, is transmitted by the bites of Aedes mosquitoes infected with dengue viruses. The resulting dengue fever is a febrile illness that affects all age groups, and it can progress to dengue haemorrhagic fever, which is a potentially lethal complication mainly affecting children. The ASSURE Dengue IgA Rapid Test facilitates diagnosis of dengue-infected patients. It is an indirect solid-phase immunochromatographic assay, where antibodies in the test sample (serum, plasma or whole blood) form antibody-antigen complexes with immobilised antigen on the membrane as the test sample migrates upwards from the sample well. The bound antibody-antigen complexes are subsequently detected by anti-human IgA conjugated to colloidal gold. The control line contains protein L, which binds with human IgA and the anti-human IgA-colloidal gold conjugate. Results are available within 20 minutes. The test kit includes the test device, sample applicator and buffer.
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Sensitizations to birch and grass pollens – two of the most common inhalation allergies – can be characterized to a new level of detail using a multiparameter, component-resolved immunoblot test system from EUROIMMUN. The assay employs single purified allergen components (SPAC) for the detection of specific IgE antibodies in place of the usual whole extracts in an approach known as molecular allergology. Th is in-depth profiling enables allergologists to precisely identify diseasecausing allergens, assess the risk of cross allergies and determine patients’ suitability for specific immunotherapy. The immunoblot contains all major allergy-inducing proteins from birch pollen (Bet v1, Bet v2, Bet v4, Bet v6) and grass pollen (Phl p1, Phl p5, Phl p7, Phl p12). In a published study the test successfully verified birch or grass pollen sensitizations in 77 patients with clinically confirmed allergies, and correlated well with comparable commercial assays. Th e assay is based on established EUROLINE technology, which combines economy and efficiency in allergy testing. Only small amounts of sample material are required, and the procedure can be fully automated using innovative devices (EUROBlotMaster, EUROBlotScanner, EUROBlotCamera) and soft ware (EUROLineScan). Th e new EUROLINE SPAC Pollen 1 Profile supplements the EUROLINE portfolio, which offers an extensive range of application-oriented profiles at a very competitive price per allergen.
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Early detection of HCV infection is vital in order to provide consolidated care of acute and chronic infection, and adequate treatment of drug response monitoring is crucial to overall therapy success. Patients undergoing a peginterferon alfa-2a and ribavirin therapy can be monitored precisely by real-time PCR measurement. The novel Elecsys anti-HCV II immunoassay on cobas e modules allows the early qualitative detection of antibodies against HCV. The updated assay delivers enhanced convenience, specificity, increased reliability and consistency for improved efficiency in screening patients as well as blood donors. Following the identification of HCV antibodies, testing for HCV RNA, which is a crucial marker in the management of hepatitis C, confirms the infection and facilitates prediction of treatment response. Sensitive HCV RNA qualitative and quantitative tests to measure viral load and predict drug response are available on the COBAS AmpliPrep/COBAS TaqMan fully automated platform.
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