Lawrence Livermore Supersizes the Microarray

Developers assess many considerations when making the determination of the size of a multiplex panel: comprehensiveness versus actionability, efficiency versus sensitivity. While targeted, moderately sized solutions are likely ideal for most common conditions, researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (California) are developing a super assay for global disease surveillance and for instances when there is not a suspected pathogen. The Lawrence Livermore Microbial Detection Array (LLMDA) is capable of detecting virtually any microbe that has been sequenced, with results in 24 hours. The researchers see configuration of the assay as possible for a wide range of clinical applications. It has demonstrated success, for instance, in detecting bacterial pathogens in the wounds of U.S. soldiers. The LLMDA was able to detect at least one bacterial pathogen in roughly one-third of wound samples in which no bacteria were detected using the standard culture method, according to a study published in the July issue of the Journal of Clinical Microbiology. One of the study’s key findings, the researchers say, is that the assay detected bacteria, commonly seen with hospital-related infections, which were associated with wounds that did not heal successfully. The technology combines bioinformatics with a microarray that in its current iteration has […]