HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit an electronic Letter to the Editor about this paper Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (9) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Pourahmadi, F. Articles by Northrup, M. A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Pourahmadi, F. Articles by Northrup, M. A.

Toward a Rapid, Integrated, and Fully Automated DNA Diagnostic Assay for Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae

¹ Cepheid, 1190 Borregas Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94089
^a author for correspondence: fax 406-541-4192, e-mail pourahmadi@cepheid.com

Molecular testing for the diagnosis of bacterial or viral infections in raw clinical specimens requires complex, multistep procedures to release and isolate nucleic acid before PCR amplification (1)(2). Laboratory bench-top sample preparation procedures are very labor- and equipment-intensive, which reflects on total assay cost and increased susceptibility to sample and reagent carryover (3)(4). The need for automation has led to the development and introduction of robotics-based laboratory instruments with discrete operations that simulate the basic functions of a laboratory technician. These systems are typically developed for high-throughput applications and usually require intermittent operator involvement. In addition, because they directly emulate the operator’s manual functions for processing boluses of sample and reagents, the issue of sample or reagent carryover and carryin remains unresolved, and the complexity of the robotic mechanisms themselves contributes to high capital costs and poor reliability.

Several factors currently contribute to and facilitate the development of the next generation of automated and integrated diagnostics instruments. One factor includes the recent advances in the microfluidics field of miniaturized integrated platforms and supporting technologies, which potentially enable the seamless execution of a sequence of protocols (5). Miniaturized processor-controlled microfluidic platforms contain chambers and valves, and encapsulate entities such as filter membranes or solid-phase particles. They are able to execute important processes such as cell capture, lysis, and fluid mixing, which currently require discrete laboratory instruments (6). Another factor is the development of a miniature, rapid PCR thermocycler device with real-time optical detection capable of multiplex analysis (7)(8)(9). Its modularity and adaptability allows for easy integration into an instrument platform downstream of a sample preparation module. It is possible to envision a one-step operation covering sample preparation and analysis, from raw sample . . . [Full Text of this Article]

References

The following articles in journals at HighWire Press have cited this article:

				C. J. Easley, J. M. Karlinsey, J. M. Bienvenue, L. A. Legendre, M. G. Roper, S. H. Feldman, M. A. Hughes, E. L. Hewlett, T. J. Merkel, J. P. Ferrance, et al. A fully integrated microfluidic genetic analysis system with sample-in-answer-out capability PNAS, December 19, 2006; 103(51): 19272 - 19277. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. R. Gingeras, R. Higuchi, L. J. Kricka, Y.M. D. Lo, and C. T. Wittwer Fifty Years of Molecular (DNA/RNA) Diagnostics Clin. Chem., March 1, 2005; 51(3): 661 - 671. [Full Text] [PDF]