A Preliminary Evaluation of a Prototype Western Blot Confirmatory Test Kit for Syphilis

1994 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 409-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Young ◽  
P J Walker ◽  
D Merry ◽  
A Mifsud

A prototype Western blot kit was evaluated as a confirmatory test for syphilis using 131 sera characterized by other serological tests for syphilis. There were 114 treponemal sera (including 94 cases of early syphilis, 83 of which were untreated) and 17 non-treponemal problem sera (11 gave false positive reactions on screening with the TmpA recombinant antigen enzyme immunoassay (EIA), 3 gave false positive fluorescent treponemal antibody absorbed (FTA-abs) tests, and 3 false positive Captia Syphilis G EIA results). Based on the manufacturer's criteria of reactivity in multiple bands for designating a positive result the Western blot test gave a sensitivity of 99.1% (113/114) and a specificity of 88.2% (15/17) when indeterminate reactions were scored positive and 98.2% (112/114) and 100% (17/17) when indeterminate reactions were scored negative. Sensitivity was high in both treated and untreated infection. Corresponding sensitivities for the TPHA and FTA-abs when equivocal reactions were scored negative were 97.5% (111/114) and 99.1% (113/114). The high sensitivity of the FTA-abs in this study is probably due to the large number of untreated primary infections. Our results with the Western blot, confirm earlier studies using ‘in-house’ test systems and, support a role for a commercial Western blot test in the confirmatory diagnosis of syphilis. Further studies are required to confirm the high specificity and sensitivity of the kit in a larger series including a wider variety of non-treponemal cases as well as patients with untreated and treated infection.

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Touyana Semenova ◽  
Alexandria Voigt ◽  
William Donelan ◽  
Alek Aranyos ◽  
Janet Yamamoto ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTZika virus (ZIKV) infections are an emerging health pandemic of significant medical importance. ZIKV appeared recently in the Americas from Africa via the South Pacific. The current outbreak has garnered attention by exhibiting unique characteristics of devastating neurodevelopmental defects in newborns of infected pregnant women. Current guidelines for ZIKV diagnostics developed by the Center of Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) consist of nucleic acid testing, plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT), and a serologic test for IgM detection. To better accommodate and comply with these guidelines, we developed a simultaneous on-chip detection of ZIKV and anti-ZIKV antibodies using an array of nanowells. Using on-chip microengraving, we were able to detect anti-ZIKV antibodies and their immunoglobulin isotypes. In parallel, applying on-chip real-time PCR with epifluorescence microscopy, we were able to quantify ZIKV viral load as low as one copy. To test clinical samples of patients at the postconvalescent stage, we analyzed samples from 8 patients. The on-chip nanowells could effectively identify antibodies that reacted against ZIKV envelope protein and their isotypes with high sensitivity and specificity. The small sample requirement with high specificity and sensitivity and combined molecular and serological tests could potentially be very advantageous and beneficial in accurate detection of Zika infection for better disease monitoring and management.


Nanomaterials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1207
Author(s):  
Hong Jae Cheon ◽  
Quynh Huong Nguyen ◽  
Moon Il Kim

Inspired by the active site structure of natural horseradish peroxidase having iron as a pivotal element with coordinated histidine residues, we have developed histidine coated magnetic nanoparticles (His@MNPs) with relatively uniform and small sizes (less than 10 nm) through one-pot heat treatment. In comparison to pristine MNPs and other amino acid coated MNPs, His@MNPs exhibited a considerably enhanced peroxidase-imitating activity, approaching 10-fold higher in catalytic reactions. With the high activity, His@MNPs then were exploited to detect the important neurotransmitter acetylcholine. By coupling choline oxidase and acetylcholine esterase with His@MNPs as peroxidase mimics, target choline and acetylcholine were successfully detected via fluorescent mode with high specificity and sensitivity with the limits of detection down to 200 and 100 nM, respectively. The diagnostic capability of the method is demonstrated by analyzing acetylcholine in human blood serum. This study thus demonstrates the potential of utilizing His@MNPs as peroxidase-mimicking nanozymes for detecting important biological and clinical targets with high sensitivity and reliability.


2022 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharina Radakovics ◽  
Claire Battin ◽  
Judith Leitner ◽  
Sabine Geiselhart ◽  
Wolfgang Paster ◽  
...  

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are primary pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), which recognize conserved microbial components. They play important roles in innate immunity but also in the initiation of adaptive immune responses. Impurities containing TLR ligands are a frequent problem in research but also for the production of therapeutics since TLR ligands can exert strong immunomodulatory properties even in minute amounts. Consequently, there is a need for sensitive tools to detect TLR ligands with high sensitivity and specificity. Here we describe the development of a platform based on a highly sensitive NF-κB::eGFP reporter Jurkat JE6-1 T cell line for the detection of TLR ligands. Ectopic expression of TLRs and their coreceptors and CRISPR/Cas9-mediated deletion of endogenously expressed TLRs was deployed to generate reporter cell lines selectively expressing functional human TLR2/1, TLR2/6, TLR4 or TLR5 complexes. Using well-defined agonists for the respective TLR complexes we could demonstrate high specificity and sensitivity of the individual reporter lines. The limit of detection for LPS was below 1 pg/mL and ligands for TLR2/1 (Pam3CSK4), TLR2/6 (Fsl-1) and TLR5 (flagellin) were detected at concentrations as low as 1.0 ng/mL, 0.2 ng/mL and 10 pg/mL, respectively. We showed that the JE6-1 TLR reporter cells have the utility to characterize different commercially available TLR ligands as well as more complex samples like bacterially expressed proteins or allergen extracts. Impurities in preparations of microbial compounds as well as the lack of specificity of detection systems can lead to erroneous results and currently there is no consensus regarding the involvement of TLRs in the recognition of several molecules with proposed immunostimulatory functions. This reporter system represents a highly suitable tool for the definition of structural requirements for agonists of distinct TLR complexes.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhang Tie ◽  
Wang Chunguang ◽  
Wei Xiaoyuan ◽  
Zhao Xinghua ◽  
Zhong Xiuhui

To develop a rapid detection method ofStaphylococcus aureususing loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), four specific primers were designed according to six distinct sequences of thenucgene. In addition, the specificity and sensitivity of LAMP were verified and compared with those of PCR. Results showed that the LAMP reaction was completed within 45 min at 62.5°C, and ladder bands were appeared in LAMP products analyzed by gel electrophoresis. After adding 1x SYBR Green l, the positive reaction tube showed green color and the negative reaction tube remained orange, indicating that the LAMP has high specificity. The minimal detectable concentration of LAMP was1×102 CFU/mL and that of PCR was1×104 CFU/mL, indicating that the LAMP was 100 times more sensitive than the PCR. The LAMP method for detection ofStaphylococcus aureushas many advantages, such as simple operation, high sensitivity, high specificity, and rapid analysis. Therefore, this method is more suitable for the rapid on-site detection ofStaphylococcus aureus.


2008 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 424-428 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jung-ah Kwon ◽  
Hyeseon Lee ◽  
Kap N o Lee ◽  
Kwangchun Chae ◽  
Seram Lee ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) can be transmitted through blood transfusion. Screening ELISA, the most widely used method for HCV diagnosis, sometimes yields false-positive and false-negative results, so a confirmatory test is used. This secondary testing is labor-intensive and expensive, and thus is impractical for massive blood bank screening. Therefore, a new massive screening method with high accuracy is needed for sensitive and specific detection of HCV. Methods: With sol-gel material, we designed novel antigen microarray in 96-well plates for HCV detection. Each individual well was spotted with 4 different HCV antigens. We used this new system to test 154 patient serum samples previously tested for HCV by ELISA (87 HCV positive and 67 HCV negative) (HCV EIA3.0, ABBOTT). We assessed the detection limit of our microarray system with the use of serial 10-fold dilutions of an HCV-positive sample. Results: Our microarray assay was reproducible and displayed higher diagnostic accuracy (specificity) (98.78%) than did the ELISA (81.71%). Our method yielded significantly fewer false-positive results than did the ELISA. The detection limit of our assay was 1000 times more sensitive than that of the ELISA. In addition, we found this novel assay technology to be compatible with the currently employed automated methods used for ELISA. Conclusion: We successfully applied the sol-gel–based protein microarray technology to a screening assay for HCV diagnosis with confirmatory test-level accuracy. This new, inexpensive method will improve the specificity and sensitivity of massive sample diagnosis.


2015 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. MBI.S29736 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenjiro Nagamine ◽  
Guo-Chiuan Hung ◽  
Bingjie Li ◽  
Shyh-Ching Lo

Using Streptococcus pyogenes as a model, we previously established a stepwise computational workflow to effectively identify species-specific DNA signatures that could be used as PCR primer sets to detect target bacteria with high specificity and sensitivity. In this study, we extended the workflow for the rapid development of PCR assays targeting Enterococcus faecalis, Enterococcus faecium, Clostridium perfringens, Clostridium difficile, Clostridium tetani, and Staphylococcus aureus, which are of safety concern for human tissue intended for transplantation. Twenty-one primer sets that had sensitivity of detecting 5–50 fg DNA from target bacteria with high specificity were selected. These selected primer sets can be used in a PCR array for detecting target bacteria with high sensitivity and specificity. The workflow could be widely applicable for the rapid development of PCR-based assays for a wide range of target bacteria, including those of biothreat agents.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xi He ◽  
Derong Zhou ◽  
Yanwu Sun ◽  
Yuan Zhang ◽  
Xiaogang Zhang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Toxoplasma gondii, an intracellular apicomplexan protozoan parasite, can infect all warm-blooded animals. Infected swine are considered one of the most important sources of T. gondii infection in humans. Rapidly and effectively diagnosing T. gondii infection in swine is essential. PCR-based diagnostic tests have been fully developed, and very sensitive and specific PCR is crucial for the diagnosis of swine toxoplasmosis. Methods To established a high specificity and sensitivity PCR detection method for swine toxoplasmosis, we used T. gondii GRA14 gene as target to design specific primers and established a PCR detection method for swine toxoplasmosis. A total of 5462 blood specimens collected from pigs in 5 provinces and autonomous regions in southern China during 2016–2017 were assessed by the newly established GRA14 gene PCR method. Result Altogether, we used T. gondii GRA14 gene as target to design specific primers and established a high specificity and sensitivity PCR detection method for swine toxoplasmosis; in particular, this PCR method could detect T. gondii tachyzoite DNA in the acute infection phase. The GRA14 gene PCR assay detected a minimum of 2.35 tachyzoites of T. gondii, and it could be used for T. gondii detection in blood, tissue, semen, urine and waste feed specimens. The overall T. gondii infection rate was 18.9% (1033/5462) by the newly established GRA14 gene PCR method. According to statistical analysis among different regions, the positive rates of swine toxoplasmosis in the Shaanxi, Fujian and Guangdong areas in China from 2016 to 2017 were the highest, at 31.7% (44/139), 21.9% (86/391) and 18.8% (874/4645), respectively (χ2 = 84.2, P < 0.0001). Specimens collected in 2017 had a higher positive rate (19.1% or 886/4639) than those collected in 2016 (16.1% or 155/963) (χ2 = 4.5, P < 0.05). Specimens collected in autumn (39.4% or 187/474), spring (22.8% or 670/2940) and winter (18.2% or 129/709) also had higher positive rates than those collected in summer (3.8% or 57/1479) (χ2 = 427.7, P < 0.0001). Conclusions These results indicate that the new PCR method based on the T. gondii GRA14 gene would be useful for the diagnosis of swine toxoplasmosis and that it would facilitate the diagnosis of toxoplasmosis in clinical laboratories.


2018 ◽  
pp. 13-20
Author(s):  
A. S. Yakovleva ◽  
A. V. Kanshina ◽  
A. V. Scherbakov

An indirect variant of ELISA used for detection of antibodies to nonstructural proteins of the FMD virus in porcine blood sera was developed. The results of the validation showed that the developed method is characterized by high sensitivity, specificity and reproducibility. When testing the blood serum panel obtained from experimentally infected animals, the method allowed to detect antibodies to FMD virus in 7 of 18 sera collected on day 6 post inoculation, in 13 of 19 sera – on day 7 post inoculation, in 16 of 19 sera – on day 8 post inoculation and in all 76 sera obtained on days 9–12 post inoculation. The diagnostic specificity of 3AB-ELISA was 100% when testing 100 knowingly negative blood sera from pigs imported to Russia from Norway. High specificity and sensitivity of the method, established during the development of the method, are confirmed in the course of routine diagnostic tests.


2021 ◽  
Vol 66 (8) ◽  
pp. 472-479
Author(s):  
S. G. Mardanly ◽  
A. S. Avdonina

Test kit for detection of specific IgM to SARS-CoV-2 by immune blotting in the «Line blot» format has been developed. A preliminary study of diagnostic effectivity on clinical samples of blood serum from patients with COVID-19 and healthy donors showed its high sensitivity and specificity. The new test kit allows to detect IgM to all four structural antigens of SARS-CoV-2 and can be used as a confirmatory test to verify indeterminant screening results in laboratory etiological diagnosis of COVID-19.


2020 ◽  
Vol 65 (6) ◽  
pp. 362-367
Author(s):  
S. G. Mardanly ◽  
A. S. Avdonina ◽  
V. V. Pomazanov

A new original domestic set of reagents has been developed for the determination of class G immunoglobulins to individual human herpes virus antigens of type 7 by the method of immune blotting in the “Western-blot” format. Preliminary clinical trials were conducted using 134 serums of healthy children aged 1-16 years who underwent diagnostic testing. Study of diagnostic efficiency of the new kit showed high sensitivity, comparable to the sensitivity of the reaction indirect immunofluorescence and high specificity, which is manifested in the absence of false positive results when testing samples containing immunoglobulin G to herpes virus 6 type.


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