Farfield Scientific Announces Pan-European Collaboration on Hepatitis Diagnostic Test
Farfield Scientific has recently been awarded a prestigious contract as part of a pan-European research initiative to develop a diagnostic test for hepatitis A, B and C. The project, code named SABIO, deploys one of the latest and most sensitive optical sensor technologies based on hollow or 'slot' waveguides to detect multiple analytes in sera, making it possible to test for these diseases in a single, label free, point of care assay. The collaboration between partners in Sweden, Austria, Spain, France, Belgium, Switzerland and Great Britain brings together a talented multidisciplinary team to diagnose one of the most common infectious diseases worldwide, second only to tuberculosis.
The identification and characterisation of suitable antibody interactions falls to the research group of Professor Heinz Zoller of the Hepatology Laboratory, Innsbruck Medical University, Austria, led by Professor Wolfgang Vogel.
"We look for viral infections and tumors. At present, routine diagnostic techniques must be performed in specialist laboratories." explains Professor Zoller. "Our first goal is detection of viral hepatitis, hepatocellular carcinoma and disturbances in iron metabolism."
Farfield's role has been to help quantify the coupling of these antigens to the waveguide surface using Farfield's patented Dual Polarisation Interferometry (DPI) technology, a technique which measures the quantity, structure and bioavailability of the captured antigens. Chemical and physical changes in the antigen are then tracked in real time such that the assay can be optimised.
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