Nanoparticle-based electrochemical detection of hepatitis B virus using stripping chronopotentiometry

A selective and sensitive gold nanoparticle-based electrochemical method for detection of hepatitis B virus DNA sequences was used. This method relies on the hybridization of amplified hepatitis B virus DNA strands with probes that are extended on paramagnetic beads. After separation of noncomplementary sequences, hybridized magnetic beads were treated with streptavidin-modified gold followed by silver enhancement. High selectivity and high sensitivity were obtained using electrochemical stripping detection of silver ions that were deposited on gold nanoparticles. With a signal/noise ratio of approximately 4.6, the detection limit was estimated to be 0.7ng/ml.     

Micro flow cytometry utilizing a magnetic bead-based immunoassay for rapid virus detection

The current study presents a new miniature microfluidic flow cytometer integrated with several functional micro-devices capable of viral sample purification and detection by utilizing a magnetic bead-based immunoassay. The magnetic beads were conjugated with specific antibodies, which can recognize and capture target viruses. Another dye-labeled anti-virus antibody was then used to mark the bead-bound virus for the subsequent optical detection. Several essential components were integrated onto a single chip including a sample incubation module, a micro flow cytometry module and an optical detection module. The sample incubation module consisting of pneumatic micropumps and a membrane-type, active micromixer was used for purifying and enriching the target virus-bound magnetic beads with the aid of a permanent magnet. The micro flow cytometry module and the optical detection module were used to perform the functions of virus counting and collection. Experimental results showed that virus samples with a concentration of 10(3)PFU/ml can be automatically detected successfully by the developed system. In addition, the entire diagnosis procedure including sample incubation and virus detection took only about 40min. Consequently, the proposed micro flow cytometry may provide a powerful platform for rapid diagnosis and future biological applications.     

A DNA sequence-specific electrochemical biosensor based on alginic acid-coated cobalt magnetic beads for the detection of E. coli

A new type of DNA sequence-specific electrochemical biosensor based on magnetic beads for the detection of Escherichia coli is reported in the present work. Alginic acid-coated cobalt magnetic beads, capped with 5'-(NH(2)) oligonucleotide and employed not only for magnetic separation but also as the solid adsorbent, were used as DNA probes to hybridize with the target E. coli DNA sequence. This assay was specific for E. coli detection depending on the uid A gene, which encodes for the enzyme β-d-glucuronidase produced by E. coli strains. When daunomycin (DNR) was used as DNA hybridization indicator, the target sequences of E. coli hybridized with the probes resulted in the decrease of DNR reduction peak current, which was proportional to the E. coli concentration. The optimization of the hybridization detection was carried out and the specificity of the probes was also demonstrated. This DNA biosensor can be employed to detect a complementary target sequence for 3.0×10(-10) mol/L and denatured PCR products for 0.5 ng/μL. The linear range of the developed biosensor for the detection of E. coli cells was from 1.0×10(2) to 2.0×10(3) cells/mL with a detection limit of 50 cells/mL. After a brief enrichment process, a concentration of 10 cells/mL E. coli in real water samples was detected by the electrochemical biosensor.     

The use of microwave irradiation as a pretreatment toin situ hybridization for the detection of measles virus and chicken anaemia virus in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue

Summary Microwave irradiation was investigated as a pretreatment toin situ hybridization on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue. Two probe/tissue systems were used: a single-stranded RNA probe for the detection of measles virus nucleocapsid genome in subacute sclerosing panencephalitis brain tissue, and a double stranded DNA probe for chicken anaemia virus in thymus of chicken infected with the virus. Microwaving, when used as sole pretreatment, was not as effective as the more traditional enzyme pretreatments forin situ hybridization. However, when used in combination with existing pretreatments, a significant increase was found in hybridization signal in both brain and thymus tissue. This was emphasized when combination enzyme/microwave pretreatments were used prior to detection of measles virus byin situ hybridization in a series of five archival subacute sclerosing panencephalitis cases. The use of microwave irradiation would be recommended as a means of supplementingin situ hybridization methods, especially when using long-term formalin fixed paraffin-embedded tissue.     

Detection of microarray-hybridized oligonucleotides with magnetic beads

The efficiency of hybridization analysis with oligonucleotide microarrays depends heavily on the method of detection. Conventional methods based on labeling nucleic acids with fluorescent, chemiluminescent, enzyme, or radioactive reporters suffer from a number of serious drawbacks which demand development of new detection techniques. Here, we report two new approaches for detection of hybridization with oligonucleotide microarrays employing magnetic beads as active labels. In the first method streptavidin-coated magnetic beads are used to discover biotin-labeled DNA molecules hybridized with arrayed oligonucleotide probes. In the second method biotin-labeled DNA molecules are bound first to the surface of magnetic beads and then hybridized with arrayed complementary strands on bead-array contacts. Using a simple low-power microscope with a dark-field illumination and a pair of complementary primers as a model hybridization system we evaluated sensitivity, speed, and cost of the new detection method and compared its performance with the detection techniques employing enzyme and fluorescent labels. It was shown that the detection of microarray-hybridized DNA with magnetic beads combines low cost with high speed and enhanced assay sensitivity, opening a new way to routine hybridization assays which do not require precise measurements of DNA concentration.     

Microscale detection of specific bacterial DNA in soil with a magnetic capture-hybridization and PCR amplification assay.

A magnetic capture-hybridization PCR technique (MCH-PCR) was developed to eliminate the inhibitory effect of humic acids and other contaminants in PCRs targeting specific soil DNA. A single-stranded DNA probe, which was complementary to an internal part of the target gene, was used to coat magnetic beads. After hybridization in a suspension of soil DNA, magnetic extraction of the beads separated the hybrid DNA from all other soil DNA, humic acids, and other interfering soil components. The MCH was followed by PCR amplification of the specific target DNA. In barley rhizosphere soil, detection of a lux gene inserted in a Pseudomonas fluorescens strain could be demonstrated in nonsterile soil samples (0.5 mg). This corresponded to a detection of fewer than 40 bacterial cells per cm of barley root. The MCH-PCR technique greatly improves the current protocols for PCR detection of specific microorganisms or genes in soil because specific target DNA sequences from very small soil samples can be extracted and determined.     

In situ DNA amplification with magnetic primers for the electrochemical detection of food pathogens

A sensitive and selective genomagnetic assay for the electrochemical detection of food pathogens based on in situ DNA amplification with magnetic primers has been designed. The performance of the genomagnetic assay was firstly demonstrated for a DNA synthetic target by its double-hybridization with both a digoxigenin probe and a biotinylated capture probe, and further binding to streptavidin-modified magnetic beads. The DNA sandwiched target bound on the magnetic beads is then separated by using a magneto electrode based on graphite-epoxy composite. The electrochemical detection is finally achieved by an enzyme marker, anti-digoxigenin horseradish peroxidase (HRP). The novel strategy was used for the rapid and sensitive detection of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplified samples. Promising resultants were also achieved for the DNA amplification directly performed on magnetic beads by using a novel magnetic primer, i.e., the up PCR primer bound to magnetic beads. Moreover, the magneto DNA biosensing assay was able to detect changes at single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) level, when stringent hybridization conditions were used. The reliability of the assay was tested for Salmonella spp., the most important pathogen affecting food safety.     

Detection of IgG antibody to measles virus by radioimmunoassay technique

A highly sensitive procedure of solid-phase radioimmunoassay (RIA) was developed for the detection of measles IgG antibody. HeLa cells persistently infected with measles virus were used as a solid-phase antigen. This technique was applied to the detection of measles IgG antibody in patients with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) and multiple sclerosis. Normal subjects having experienced natural measles or measles vaccination and patients with various neurological diseases of non-virus nature were also examined as control groups. Measles antibody was detected at high titers in both the sera and cerebrospinal fluid of SSPE patients. Moreover, RIA/HI ratios of SSPE patients were significantly higher than those of normal subjects, suggesting the presence in the formers of antibodies to nucleocapsids at high titers as well as to viral envelopes. On the other hand, no significant difference was found in both RIA and HI titers between the sera of multiple sclerosis and those of various neurological diseases.     

Quantification of mRNA in Salmonella sp. seeded soil and chicken manure using magnetic capture hybridization RT-PCR

Direct quantification of mRNA from Salmonella sp. seeded for 1 h to soil and chicken manure was accomplished using magnetic capture hybridization as a purification technique. This detection strategy targeted the invA gene present in Salmonella sp. After cell lysis, phenol/chloroform purification and isopropanol precipitation, the RNA extract was combined with the hybridization probe conjugated to paramagnetic beads. After hybridization, the captured nucleic acids were released by denaturation and purified of contaminating DNA using DNase. The resulting RNA was of high purity and there was no need for dilution of the samples prior to RT-PCR. The developed procedure was reproducibly used to quantify Salmonella sp. in high organic agricultural soil. The detection limit for mRNA using ordinary quantitative PCR (employing SYBRgreen-based detection) was 5 x 10(4)Salmonella sp. cells per gram of soil. Chicken manure amended into soil (1:4 w/w) did not reduce the ability to quantify Salmonella sp. mRNA in soil. Pasteurization (65 degrees C, 30 min) of chicken manure containing Salmonella sp. dramatically reduced the detection of invA mRNA (requiring 42 qPCR cycles for detection versus 26 cycles in unpasteurized manure), presumably due to degradation of the invA mRNA in Salmonella sp. cells killed by pasteurization. By contrast, DNA-based qPCR still detected Salmonella sp. in the pasteurized manure. Thus, in this case using samples seeded with fresh Salmonella sp. the mRNA-based detection appears to be superior to minimizing false-positive detection which was prevalent with DNA-based qPCR.     

Detection protocols for biotinylated probes: optimization using multistep techniques.

Recent studies using biotinylated in situ hybridization (ISH) have utilized a wide range of detection protocols for the biotinylated hybrids, leading to conflicting reports in the literature regarding sensitivity. In this study we compared 11 different detection protocols for biotinylated ISH using a measles virus-specific RNA probe on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded central nervous system tissue infected with measles virus. Maximum sensitivity was achieved with five-step detection protocols incorporating the use of a monoclonal antibody to biotin. Single-step detection protocols were found to be insensitive, as shown by their failure to detect viral nucleic acid in infected white-matter cells. Only by increasing the number of steps in the detection protocols were these infected cells demonstrable. Unless pre-hybridization, hybridization, and detection protocols are optimized, the results obtained in pathogenicity studies using ISH could be misinterpreted, leading to false conclusions about nucleic acid distribution. This also applies to the ever-increasing use of ISH for diagnostic purposes.     

Cytochemical hybridization with fluorochrome-labeled RNA. II. Applications

The cytochemical detection of specific DNA sequences by hybridization with fluorochrome-labeled RNA and detection of the hybrids by fluorescence microscopy is described. RNAs complementary to the DNA of the kinetoplasts of Crithidia luciliae (an insect trypanosome) or to adenovirus-5 (Ad-5) DNA were labeled with the hydrazine derivative of tetramethylrhodamine isothiocyanate (TRITC). The specificity of the reactions between the complementary RNAs labeled both with 3H and tetramethylrhodamine was studied by cross-hybridization experiments using a model system in which the DNAs were bound to Sepharose beads. The extent of the reaction was measured by scintillation counting of the bead suspensions and quantitative fluorescence microscopy of individual Sepharose beads. The ability of the rhodamine-labeled cRNAs to hybridize and the absence of interference of the fluorochrome label with the specificity of the hybridization reaction was thus demonstrated. After cytochemical hybridization on microscopic preparations of C. luciliae cells the rhodamine-labeled kinetoplast cRNA stains only the kinetoplasts. No fluorescence was observed in the nuclei. After cytochemical hybridization of rhodamine-labeled Ad-5 cRNA with virus infected KB cells a distinct staining pattern in the nuclei was observed. No fluorescence was seen in uninfected cells, or after hybridization with heterologous rhodamine-labeled RNA. The possibilities and limitations of cytochemical hybridization with rhodamine-labeled RNA are discussed.     

Anionic polymer,poly(methyl vinyl ether–maleic anhydride)-coated beads-based capture of human influenza A and B virus

An anionic magnetic beads-based method was developed for the capture of human influenza A and B viruses from nasal aspirates, allantoic fluid and culture medium. A polymer, poly(methyl vinyl ether–maleic anhydride) [poly(MVE-MA)], was used to endow magnetic beads with a negative charge and bioadhesive properties. After incubation with samples containing human influenza virus, the beads were separated from supernatants by applying a magnetic field. The absorption of the virus by the beads was confirmed by hemagglutinin assay, immunochromatography, Western blotting, egg infection, and cell infection. Successful capture was proved using 5 H1N1 influenza A viruses, 10 H3N2 influenza A viruses, and 6 influenza B viruses. Furthermore, the infectivity in chicken embryonated eggs and Madin–Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells of the captured human influenza virus was similar to that of the total viral quantity of starting materials. Therefore, this method of capture using magnetic beads coated with poly(MVE-MA) can be broadly used for the recovery of infectious human influenza viruses.     

Sorting of chromosomes by magnetic separation

Summary Chromosomes were isolated from Chinese hamster x human hybrid cell lines containing four and nine human chromosomes. Human genomic DNA was biotinylated by nick translation and used to label the human chromosomes by in situ hybridization in suspension. Streptavidin was covalently coupled to the surface of magnetic beads and these were incubated with the hybridized chromosomes. The human chromosomes were bound to the magnetic beads through the strong biotin-streptavidin complex and then rapidly separated from nonlabeled Chinese hamster chromosomes by a simple permanent magnet. The hybridization was visualized by additional binding of avidin-FITC (fluorescein) to the unoccupied biotinylated human DNA bound to the human chromosomes. After magnetic separation, up to 98% of the individual chromosomes attached to magnetic beads were classified as human chromosomes by fluorescence microscopy.     

Host cell factors involved in the production of slowly sedimenting nucleocapsids in measles virus-infected cells.

A decrease in the sedimentation rates of the measles virus nucleocapsid, and the RNA contained within, were observed during acute measles virus infection when the growth conditions of Vero cells were altered. The change in sedimentation rates of virus nucleocapsids in these experiments was apparently due to the physiological state of the cell and was independent of the history of the measles virus used for infection since: (i) the same virus stock was used to infect cells from which nucleocapsids were prepared, (ii) nucleocapsid sedimentation rates were rapid when Vero cells freshly revived from liquid nitrogen were infected, but nucleocapsid profiles showed no decrease in the amount of slowly sedimenting material using the same cells and changing the virus preparation used for infection. Frequent cell splittings and numerous medium changes were among the growth factors which appeared to correlate to slowly sedimenting particle production. Changes in the amount of self-complementarity of the measles virus RNA were also observed under these conditions.     

鸡胚细胞的传代培养和麻疹病毒的增殖

为了建立原代鸡胚细胞的传代培养工艺,探究传代鸡胚细胞对麻疹病毒的敏感性和适应性,本研究将原代鸡胚细胞进行传代培养,分别采用原代鸡胚细胞和传代鸡胚细胞培养麻疹病毒沪-191(Shanghai-191,S-191)株毒种,并对病毒收获液进行滴度检测和基因序列测定。结果显示,原代鸡胚细胞可稳定传代培养至第10代,各代次细胞生长趋势相似;第5代鸡胚细胞染色体检查为正常染色体核型;第8代鸡胚细胞成瘤性检查未见成瘤;采用第3、5代鸡胚细胞制备的麻疹病毒滴度水平高于原代鸡胚细胞,但无显著性差异(n=3,P>0.05),编码病毒核蛋白(nucleoprotein,N)和血凝素蛋白(hemagglutinin,H)的基因序列与S-191株完全一致,未发生变异。本研究证实,原代鸡胚细胞可进行传代培养,各代次鸡胚细胞对麻疹病毒的敏感性不变,产毒水平无显著差异,可用于培养麻疹病毒。     

A new method for the detection of the H5 influenza virus by magnetic beads capturing quantum dot fluorescent signals

A new method to detect H5 influenza virus using quantum dots (QDs) and magnetic beads (MBs) is described. QDs conjugated with oligonucleotide probes were used to produce fluorescent signals and MBs, that were also conjugated with probes, were used to isolate and concentrate the signals. Target viral RNAs led to a sandwich hybridization between the functionalized QDs and MBs. One-step hybridization facilitated the subtype determination. As little as 0.1 ng viral RNA could be detected.     

基于功能化磁珠快速提取植物病毒RNA方法的建立与优化

植物病毒病是制约作物生产的主要病害之一。及时明确其病毒病原和发展规律是有效控制其大规模传播的前提。而现有植物病毒病检测技术存在周期长、步骤繁琐、检测环境严苛等缺点。本研究以烟草花叶病毒 (Tobacco mosaic virus,TMV)为模型,基于碱基互补配对原则设计针对TMV的功能化磁珠（CMBs-ACPTMV）进行RNA提取,并对功能化磁珠的制备条件、提取反应条件以及灵敏性和稳定性等性能进行优化分析。结果表明,当添加4 μmol捕获探针（ACPTMV）、0.08 mg羧基磁珠（CMBs）时,所制备的CMBs-ACPTMV吸附RNA的能力最好;当提取时间为3 min时,CMBs-ACPTMV提取RNA的效果最好,而改变CMBs-ACPTMV的提取温度时其提取能力无明显变化;性能评价分析发现,CMBs-ACPTMV的灵敏度可达2.5 ng/μL,且检测稳定性较好。与常规RNA提取技术相比,CMBs-ACPTMV在检测时间和样品消耗量上具有突出优势。本研究所建立的功能化磁珠提取法快速、安全和简便,只需简易设备便可实现植物病毒RNA的快速提取,具有广阔的应用前景。