omation mbers - Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening

TP052
Dawn Marie Jacobson
Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System
3350 La Jolla Village Drive
San Diego, California 92161
watermusicdoc@yahoo.com
172
Co-Author(s)
David Herold
Elevated Serum Total Protein as an Indicator of Chronic Viral Hepatitis and/or HIV Infection
Background: The importance of diagnosing, treating, and preventing transmission of hepatitis B virus (HBV),
hepatitis C virus (HCV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is well-known. An elevated serum total
protein level may indicate an increase in immunoglobulins secondary to infection, autoimmune disease, hepatic
compromise, the presence of a monoclonal gammopathy or malignancy. The relationship between an elevated
serum total protein level and HBV, HCV, and/or HIV infection is unknown. Methods: Chart review and laboratory
analysis of 96 consecutive patients with a protein level greater than 8.3 g/dL (reference range 6.4-8.3 g/dL) was
performed. Laboratory analysis included serum total protein level, SPEP, HIV-1 ELISA, HBsAg, HBsAb, HBcAb, and
HCV antibody testing. Results: 66 patients (69%) showed serologic evidence of one or more of these infectious
diseases. 25% were new diagnoses (0 HIV, 6 HCV, 18 HBV). This represents a prevalence of HBV and HCV
infection that is four times what would be expected in the San Diego veteran population. Conclusions: An elevated
serum total protein level may be an indicator of inflammation secondary to HBV, HCV, or HIV infection. In the light
of cost-effective medicine, and especially in areas where resources are limited, an elevated serum total protein
level should be utilized as an additional screening modality to direct the diagnosis of unsuspected HBV, HCV,
and HIV infection. The clinical use of a highly automated and inexpensive total protein screening test will insure a
greater percentage of infected individuals will be identified, treated, and educated about the prevention of disease
transmission.
TP053
Joong Hyun Kim
University of California, Riverside
Chemical and Envrionmental Engineering
B148 Bourns Hall
Riverside, California 92521
jhkim@engr.ucr.edu
Nano Crystal Hydride Stable DNA Probe
Co-Author(s)
Jared Stephens
Dimitrios Morikis
Mihrimah Ozkan
Revolution in biochemistry and biomedical engineering has been boosted by the inventions of tools such as PCR,
DNA chip, Biosensors and so on. DNA or RNA probe is the basic component of those tools because DNA or
RNA has high stability and specificity to its targets. Among those probes, molecular beacons have distinguished
ability to detect their specific targets in a sample containing even single base- mismatched targets. Furthermore,
the novel probes do not require washing step to observe fluorescence when there is hybridization between the
probes and the targets. Therefore, molecular beacons have been applied in various applications including realtime
monitoring of polymerase chain reactions, developing DNA sensors, and in monitoring target RNAs in vivo
for drug developing. However, for practical in vivo application of molecular beacons, limitation still remains due to
the photobleaching characteristics of organic dyes and their available limited number of colors. Since the lifetime
of organic dyes is not long enough, it is challenging for example to observe expression of target RNA in vivo.
Furthermore, organic dyes have their own excitation wavelength, and they require multiple energy sources, which
can cause energy accumulation in living cells. Since their spectrum’s overlap, it is difficult to observe two different
colors at the same time and thus can limit the number of detectable target. Here we report for the first time a
hybrid molecular beacon with nanocrystal an inorganic fluorophor and organic quencher that exhibits improved
stability against photobleaching.