Reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) has been introduced as the most sensitive method for detecting and pathotyping the avian influenza virus (AIV) or ‘bird flu’, however the number of targets that can be amplified in a single run is limited.
Now chemists at the Technical University of Denmark have developed a device for the rapid and unambiguous detection of AIV by integrating DNA microarray-based solid-phase PCR on to a microfluidic chip. This combines the advantages of microfluidic devices, the high-throughput capabilities of microarrays and the superior specificity of solid-phase PCR. The whole process takes under an hour and uses a sample volume 10 times less than anything previously, meaning that this device can be widely employed by veterinarians for rapid on-site screening of AIV in wild and domestic poultries.
Find out more by reading this HOT article, which is free to access for the next 4 weeks!
A lab-on-a-chip device for rapid identification of avian influenza viral RNA by solid-phase PCR
Yi Sun, Raghuram Dhumpa, Dang Duong Bang, Jonas Høgberg, Kurt Handberg and Anders Wolff
Lab Chip, 2011, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C0LC00528B
