Development and evaluation of a loop-mediated isothermal amplification method in conjunction with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for specific detection of Salmonella serogroup D

Loop-mediated isothermal amplification in conjunction with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (LAMP-ELISA) provides a sensitive, specific and cost-effective method for detection of etiological causes of infections. The present study developed a reliable LAMP-ELISA diagnostic kit for identification of Salmonella serogroup D strains and evaluated its potential use in the detection of Salmonella serovars Enteritidis and Typhi. The LAMP-ELISA assay used a serogroup D/A-specific primer set to amplify a region of the prt gene, followed by hybridization of the digoxigenin-labeled products to a highly specific oligonucleotide probe for exact identification of serogroup D serovars. Among the bacteria tested, a positive reaction was only observed for strains belong to Salmonella serogroup D. The detection limit of the LAMP-ELISA assay was 4 CFU per tube, which was lower than PCR-ELISA assay with the same target gene (50 CFU per tube). Finally, the technique was successfully applied to an artificially contaminated meat sample with a detection limit 10³ CFU mL⁻¹, which was 10 times more sensitive than PCR-ELISA. Overall, the LAMP-ELISA assay could be used as a sensitive alternative method to PCR-ELISA for the specific detection of Salmonella serogroup D serovars in routine food microbiology or clinical laboratories worldwide.     

Detection of PCR products amplified from DNA of epizootic pathogens using magnetic nanoparticles and SERS

Here we present a novel approach using surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy for the sequence‐specific detection of DNA utilizing magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) for the enrichment of the target molecules. To achieve fast and efficient binding of longer DNA strands, e.g. PCR products, the hybridization procedure is performed in solution. To further purify and enrich the DNA strands of interest, MNPs are used for their separation. Following the binding of the target DNA, a dye‐modified, short synthetic ssDNA is hybridized, which serves as label for the SERS detection. The SERS spectra are used to identify the bound molecules. The applicability of this approach was first tested with short synthetic oligonucleotides to evaluate its specificity. Afterward, the system was applied to detect PCR products amplified from DNA of specific agents of epizootic diseases. Sequences of the bacterium Mycoplasma mycoides subspecies mycoides small colony type (MmmSC), causing contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) were used as PCR targets. To demonstrate the multiplexing capability of SERS, the simultaneous detection of three different PCR products labeled with three dyes was performed. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

CMC-g-DNA接枝共聚物的合成与表征

在磷酸盐缓冲溶液中用1-(3-二甲氨基丙基)-3-乙基碳二亚胺(EDC)与N-羟基琥珀酰亚胺(NHS)活化羧甲基纤维素钠(CMC)侧链上的羧基; 在室温下再将活化的CMC与5'端经氨基修饰的单链脱氧核糖核酸(DNA)齐聚物(ODNs)反应, 获得CMC上接枝ODNs的共聚物(CMC-g-ODNs), 以Lambda DNA为模板, 通过聚合酶链式反应(PCR), 将接枝的ODNs扩增为长度为1300个碱基对的双链DNA, 从而制得CMC侧链上接枝DNA的共聚物CMC-g-DNA. 采用傅里叶红外光谱仪测定CMC与NHS形成的中间体; 用水平式琼脂糖凝胶电泳和垂直板变性聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳对CMC-g-DNA接枝共聚物进行表征. 结果表明, 合成了CMC-g-DNA接枝共聚物, 且在酸性条件下CMC的活化效果更好; 同时, 接枝在CMC上的DNA在琼脂糖凝胶电泳中迁移速率加快, 而在聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳中迁移速率减慢.     

一种可绝对定量核酸的数字PCR微流控芯片

构建了一种新型的可进行核酸单分子扩增和核酸绝对定量的数字聚合酶链式反应(数字PCR)微流控芯片. 应用多层软光刻技术, 以聚二甲基硅氧烷(PDMS)作为芯片材料, 盖玻片作为基底制作了具有3层结构以及微阀控制功能的微流控芯片. 芯片的大小与载玻片相当, 可同时检测4个样品, 每个样品通入芯片后平均分配到640个反应小室, 每个小室的体积为6 nL. 以从肺癌细胞A549中提取的18sRNA为样品检测了该芯片的可行性. 将样品稀释数倍后通入芯片, 核酸分子随机分布在640个小室中并扩增. 核酸分子在芯片中的分布符合泊松分布原理, 当样品中待测核酸分子平均拷贝数低于0.5个/小室时, 则每个反应小室包含0个或1个分子. 经过PCR扩增后, 有模板分子的小室检测结果为阳性反应, 而无模板分子的小室为阴性反应, 最后通过计数阳性反应室的个数, 可绝对定量原始待测样品中的目标DNA分子拷贝数. 实验结果表明, 该数字 PCR芯片可实现DNA单分子反应和核酸绝对定量, 具有成本低、 灵敏度高、 节省时间和试剂以及操作简单等优点, 为数字PCR方法在普通实验室的应用提供了一种新途径, 可用于癌症及感染性疾病的早期诊断、 单细胞分析、 产前诊断以及各种细菌病毒的核酸检验等研究.     

锁相载流子成像技术在太阳能电池中的应用

提出了一种基于锁相载流子成像技术的太阳能电池特性研究方法。激光激励的红外光生载流子辐射测量技术是一种动态的近红外调制的光致发光成像技术,已经被证实为半导体输运参数的一种行之有效的非接触测量方法。提出的锁相载流子成像技术则是一种基于红外相机的动态近红外光生载流子辐射光致发光法,它是光生载流子技术在成像领域的延伸。采用锁相载流子成像系统对10片样片进行了实验,并对获得的红外图像进行了统计分析,由此得到了载流子成像统计参数与太阳能电池光电转换效率间的相关特性。结果表明,锁相载流子成像的统计参数可用于表征太阳能电池的效率。     

可见-近红外漫反射光谱技术对羊毛和羊绒的鉴别研究

应用可见-近红外漫反射光谱技术对甘肃不同地区的130个羊毛和羊绒样品进行定性鉴别研究。结果表明：采用主成分-马氏距离聚类判别分析法,羊毛和羊绒样品界线;主成分回归分析技术结合多元离散校正、一阶导数等预处理方法,以及最佳主成分因子为8、不确定因子为1.00等参数,建立的定性鉴别模型预测性能较好,外部验证正确率为100%。说明利用可见-近红外漫反射光谱定性分析技术可以快速鉴别羊毛和羊绒。     

不需酶切位点的重叠延伸PCR在克隆表达中的应用

利用一种不需要酶切位点的重叠延伸PCR方法,将目的内含子片段插入LacZ报告基因中的任意位点,并对插入内含子片段的LacZ报告基因的活性进行分析,同时利用RT-PCR的方法对插入内含子的剪切效率进行检测。结果显示该方法可以在不加入额外碱基的情况下在DNA序列的特定位置插入目的DNA片段。并且该方法与In-Fusion克隆相比有一定的优越性。     

PCR生物微流体芯片中的表面钝化技术

聚合酶链式反应（polymerase chain reaction,PCR）是一种重要的体外DNA扩增技术,在生物化学、分析化学以及分子生物学等领域中得到广泛的应用．基于微电子机械系统（Microelectromechanical system,MEMS）技术构建而成的PCR生物微流体芯片由于具有反应速度快、样品消耗少以及所占空间体积少等优点而倍受人们亲睐．然而,伴随之较大比表面积以及其所用的裸露衬底材料常常抑制PCR反应,从而导致PCR不能顺利进行．本文结合本试验室的研究工作,综述了PCR生物微流体芯片中为了获得“友善”的PCR扩增体系而采取的表面钝化技术,主要包括表面钝化的必要性、静力学／动力学表面钝化技术以及硅相关材料对PCR抑制的机制等等．     

A new multiplex for human identification using insertion/deletion polymorphisms

Human identification is usually based on the study of STRs or SNPs depending on the particular characteristics of the investigation. However, other types of genetic variation such as insertion/deletion polymorphisms (indels) have considerable potential in the field of identification, since they can combine the desirable characteristics of both STRs and SNPs. In this study, a set of 38 non‐coding bi‐allelic autosomal indels reported to be polymorphic in African, European, and Asian populations were selected. We developed a sensitive genotyping assay, which is able to characterize all 38 bi‐allelic markers using a single multiplex PCR and detected with standard CE analyzers. Amplicon length was designed to be shorter than 160 bp. Complete profiles were obtained using 0.3 ng of DNA, and full genotyping of degraded samples was possible in cases where standard STR typing had partially failed. A total of 306 individuals from Angola, Mozambique, Portugal, Macau, and Taiwan were studied and population data are presented. All indels were polymorphic in the three population groups studied and the random match probabilities of the set ranged in orders of magnitude from 10^?14 to 10^?15. Therefore, the indel‐plex represents a valuable approach in human identification studies, especially in challenging DNA cases, as a more straightforward and efficient alternative to SNP typing.     

Genotyping of α-thalassemia deletions using multiplex polymerase chain reactions and gold nanoparticle-filled capillary electrophoresis

A gold nanoparticle-filled capillary electrophoresis method combined with three multiplex polymerase chain reactions (PCRs) was established for simultaneous diagnosis of five common α-thalassemia deletions, including the -α^3.7 deletion, -α^4.2 deletion, Southeast Asian (- -^SEA), Filipino (- -^FIL) and Thai (- -^THAI) deletions. Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) were used as a pseudostationary phase to improve the resolution between DNA fragments in a low-viscosity polymer. To achieve the best CE separation, several parameters were evaluated for optimizing the separation conditions, including the capillary coating, the concentrations of polymer sieving matrix, the sizes and concentrations of GNPs, the buffer concentrations, and the pH. The final CE method for separating a 200-base pair (bp) DNA ladder and α-thalassemia deletions used a DB-17 capillary, 0.6% poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) prepared in a mixture of GNP_32nm solution and glycine buffer (25 mM, pH 9.0) (80:20, v/v) as the sieving matrix with 1 μM YO-PRO-1 for fluorescence detection; the applied voltage was −10 kV (detector at anode side) and the separation temperature was 25 °C. Under these optimal conditions, 15 DNA fragments with sizes ranging from 0.2 kb to 3.0 kb were resolved within 11.5 min. The RSDs of migration times were less than 2.81%. A total of 21 patients with α-thalassemia deletions were analyzed using this method, and all results showed good agreement with those obtained by gel electrophoresis.