Rapid screening of phenylketonuria using a CD microfluidic device

We herein present a compact disc (CD) microfluidic chip based hybridization assay for phenylketonuria (PKU) screening. This CD chip is composed of a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) top layer containing 12 DNA hybridization microchannels, and a glass bottom layer with hydrogel pad conjugated DNA oligonucleotides. Reciprocating flow was generated on the CD chip through a simple rotation-pause operation to facilitate rapid DNA hybridization. When rotated the CD chip, the sample solution was driven into the hybridization channel by centrifugal force. When stopped the CD chip, the sample plug was pulled backward through the channel by capillary force. The hybridization assay was firstly validated with control samples and was then used to analyze 30 clinical samples from pregnant women with suspected PKU fetus. The on-chip DNA hybridization was completed in 15 min with a sample consumption as low as 1.5μL, and the limit-of-detection (LOD) of DNA template was 0.7ng/μL. Among the 30 samples tested, V245V mutation was identified in 4 cases while R243Q mutation was detected in one case. Results of the hybridization assay were confirmed by DNA sequencing. This CD-chip based hybridization assay features short analysis time, simple operation and low cost, thus has the potential to serve as the tool for PKU screening.     

不同预处理方法对苯丙酮尿症FTIR/ATR光谱筛查模型的影响

建立苯丙酮尿症的FTIR/ATR光谱筛查模型,比较基线校正、平滑、求导、傅里叶退卷积等光谱预处理方法对模型精度的影响。利用多模型共识偏最小二乘法(cPLS)建立干血片中苯丙氨酸浓度的校正模型,以相关系数(r)、预测均方根误差(RMSEP)、平均相对误差(MRE)和预测准确率(Acc)等指标,考察不同预处理方法对建模效果的影响。结果 一阶微分9点平滑处理方法效果最好。与原始光谱相比,模型的r,RMSEP,MRE和Acc分别从0.822 7,115.8,0.395和94.6改善到0.889 9,102.2,0.286和100。本方法直接快速、 不消耗试剂、 不产生污染,有望成为PKU大人群快速筛查的简便、 绿色新技术。     

Narrow-bore liquid chromatography with multichannel detection in paediatric biochemistry: Analysis of phenylalanine and tyrosine in phenylketonuria

Summary In paediatric biochemistry, the analysis of drugs and endogenous compounds in preterm or low-birth weight neonates presents particular analytical problems. Sensitive techniques with small sample capacity are essential and in this context, narrow-bore (1–2mm) LC columns, coupled with appropriate low-volume detector cells and connections to reduce band dispersion, have been shown to offer significant advantages. By comparison with conventional columns an increase in sensitivity by a factor ofca. 2 can be achieved. The combination of narrow-bore columns and rapid-scanning UV detectors in reversed-phase LC enables the spectral information to be used for both peak recognition and homogeneity validation. Furthermore, “diode bunching” in the wavelength domain leads to a further two-fold increase in sensitivity. This combination of column and detector technology has been utilised in the design of a sensitive serum micro-assay of the essential aromatic amino acids in paediatric samples, capable of being used with 500nl sample, sensitive to 13pg phenylalanine and 9pg tyrosine and linear over the requisite therapeutic range.     

Gene diagnosis of phenylketonuria by capillary electrophoresis in a novel nongel sieving polymer solution

Summary It is not possible to estimate DNA fragment lengths in undenatured buffer systems by the calibrating method because a conformation problem can occasionally predominate. Although some authors use urea as a denaturant to eliminate the influence of conformation on migration, they often experience the difficulty of loss of resolution. We have developed a novel sieving matrix with relatively low viscosity and good sieving ability, by which DNA standard PBR322/HaeIII could be separated satisfactorily. The influence of DNA conformation can also be eliminated in the same system, which makes it possible to estimate the length of a DNA fragment more precisely. Gene diagnosis and family linkage analysis of phenylketonuria (PKU) was performed as an application. A four-base-pair difference in length of the phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) short-tandem repeat (STR) alleles could be separated and identified, which paved the way for diagnosis of PKU by capillary electrophoresis.     

GC-CI-MS-SIM方法诊断新生儿苯丙酮尿症

苯丙酮尿症 (PKU)的发病原因是患者苯丙氨酸羟化酶的缺陷 ,从而导致体内苯丙氨酸 (Phe)不能正常代谢为酪氨酸 (Tyr) ,前者在体内大量堆积并氧化为有害的苯丙酮酸 .PKU是目前筛查范围最广的氨基酸代谢遗传疾病 ,全世界每年约有一千万婴儿接受 PKU筛查 ;在中国 PKU也是卫生部要求重点筛查的病种[1] .目前常规筛查方法是细菌抑制法 (BIA) ,它的特点是费用低、速度慢、容易产生假阳性 ;Chace等 [2 ,3] 报道了 MS- MS方法筛查新生儿 PKU.曲峻等 [4 ] 发展了 Chace的方法 ,采用 HPLC与MS- MS联用方法 (LC- MS- MS)筛查新生儿 PK…     

Investigation of a Biosensor Based on Phenylalanine Dehydrogenase Immobilized on a Polymer‐Blend Film for Phenylketonuria Diagnosis

We investigated a L ‐phenylalanine (L ‐phe) biosensor, functionalized through enzyme immobilization on a polymer‐blend film. The electron mediator 3,4‐dihydroxybenzaldehyde (3,4‐DHB) was employed at the electrode surface to improve direct oxidation of NADH to NAD⁺ and no additional reagents is required to be added to the sample solution. The bioactivated electrode was coated with a semi‐permeable cellulose acetate membrane in order to prevent dissolution of biofunctionalized polymer‐blend film. This constructed enzyme electrode is the first selective biosensor for phenylketonuria (PKU) detection. The sensitivity of the enzyme electrode was determined as 12.014 mA/M cm². The Michaelis–Menten and current responses as well as sensitivity of the electrode showed improved values than those of previous works. This selective biosensor presented an excellent electroanalytical response for L ‐phe, with a high steady‐state current being obtained after 20 s. The sensitivity of our biodevice is quite sufficient for the purpose of PKU detection because the reference range of clinical concern for L ‐phenylalanine concentration is C_{L ‐phe}>0.5 mM. This surface‐bioactivated enzyme electrode retained more than 80 % of its electrocatalytic activity after 16 days.     

基于小波和小波包变换的苯丙酮尿症傅里叶变换衰减全反射红外光谱筛查模型的研究

应用小波和小波包变换对傅里叶变换衰减全反射红外光谱(FTIR/ATR)进行去噪处理,以提高苯丙酮尿症(PKU)筛查模型的性能。首先优化小波和小波包变换的参数,然后分别对原始光谱(OS)、9点平滑光谱(9S)和一阶微分9点平滑光谱(1D9S)进行去噪处理,以均方根误差(RMSE)、平均相对误差(MRE)、预测准确率(Acc)等为指标,考察小波和小波包变换对模型性能的影响。结果与变换前相比,模型性能均有所提高,其中小波变换以1D9S+sym12处理结果为最优,而小波包变换以1D9S+sym1为最优;Acc全部提高为100%。     

Determination of unconjugated aromatic acids in urine by capillary electrophoresis with dual electrochemical detection – Potential application in fast diagnosis of phenylketonuria

A novel method of CE coupled with dual electrochemical detection has been developed for the determination of pathological metabolites of phenylalanine in urine samples. Factors influencing the separation and detection were examined and optimized. Five aromatic acid metabolites and a major coexisting interfering compound uric acid could be well separated within 23 min at a separation voltage of 16 kV using a 35 mmol/L SDS/60 mmol/L H₃BO₃‐Na₂B₄O₇ running buffer (pH 8.2). Highly linear response was obtained for these five biomarker compounds over three orders of magnitude with detection limits ranging from 6.6 to 0.064 μg/mL (S/N=3). The average recovery and RSD were within the range of 92.6–121.0 and 1.0–12.0%, respectively. The proposed method has been used to detect the unconjugated aromatic acids simultaneously in urine samples with the advantages of obtaining more information about target analytes and avoiding redundant measurements and high assay cost, thus could find potential applications involving assays of biomarker compounds for the purpose of fast diagnose of some metabolic diseases including phenylketonuria.     

苯丙酮尿症新生儿血斑中辅酶及葡萄糖等物质的分析

苯丙酮尿症(PKU)是新生儿先天性苯丙氨酸羟化酶缺陷所引起的苯丙氨酸代谢障碍疾病.本研究采用超高效液相色谱-质谱联用技术, 测定了5例PKU新生儿出生3天和出生30天后的血斑与20例年龄相仿的正常新生儿血斑中辅酶Q10的绝对含量和辅酶Q9的相对含量,其中,健康新生儿血斑中辅酶Q10的含量为(122.1±24.9) ng/mL,PKU新生儿组的含量为(59.0±12.0) ng/mL.采用气相色谱-质谱联用技术测定了胆固醇和葡萄糖的相对含量.研究结果表明,与对照组相比,PKU新生儿血斑中辅酶Q10、Q9、胆固醇和葡萄糖的含量均显著降低,辅酶Q10的降低与血斑中苯丙氨酸含量升高呈现显著反向相关.本研究结果为PKU患儿的饮食治疗方案提供了依据.