A sample-in-answer-out instrument for the detection of multiple respiratory pathogens in unprepared nasopharyngeal swab samples

Integrated Amplification Microarrays for Infectious Disease Diagnostics

This overview describes microarray-based tests that combine solution-phase amplification chemistry and microarray hybridization within a single microfluidic chamber. The integrated biochemical approach improves microarray workflow for diagnostic applications by reducing the number of steps and minimizing the potential for sample or amplicon cross-contamination. Examples described herein illustrate a basic, integrated approach for DNA and RNA genomes, and a simple consumable architecture for incorporating wash steps while retaining an entirely closed system. It is anticipated that integrated microarray biochemistry will provide an opportunity to significantly reduce the complexity and cost of microarray consumables, equipment, and workflow, which in turn will enable a broader spectrum of users to exploit the intrinsic multiplexing power of microarrays for infectious disease diagnostics.

George K. Rapid, simple influenza RNA extraction from nasopharyngeal samples

This report describes the development and pre-clinical testing of a new, random-access RNA sample preparation system (TruTip) for nasopharyngeal samples. The system is based on a monolithic, porous nucleic acid binding matrix embedded within an aerosol-resistant pipette tip and can be operated with single or multi-channel pipettors. Equivalent extraction efficiencies were obtained between automated QIAcube and manual TruTip methods at 10(6) gene copies influenza A per mL nasopharyngeal aspirate. Influenza A and B amended into nasopharyngeal swabs (in viral transport medium) were detected by real-time RT-PCR at approximately 745 and 370 gene copies per extraction, respectively. RNA extraction efficiency in nasopharyngeal swabs was also comparable to that obtained on an automated QIAcube instrument over a range of input concentrations; the correlation between threshold cycles (or nucleic acid recovery) for TruTip and QIAcube-purified RNA was R(2)>0.99. Preclinical testing of TruTip on blinded nasopharyngeal swab samples resulted in 98% detection accuracy relative to a clinically validated easyMAG extraction method. The physical properties of the TruTip binding matrix and ability to customize its shape and dimensions likewise make it amenable to automation and/or fluidic integration.