Development of a Cell Based Functional Assay to Be Presented by the FDA at Sample Prep East in Boston, MA, December 9-10, 2013

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Sample Prep

Boston, MA (PRWEB) October 17, 2013

Industry leaders from around the world will convene in Boston, MA for Sample Prep East conference which will take place at the Hyatt Regency Cambridge December 9-10 2013. One of the many anticipated presentations will include Shashi K. Sharma, a Research Microbiologist at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, he presents “Development of a Cell Based Functional Assay for the Detection of Botulinum Neurotoxin Type A & E.”

Featured Abstract:
Shashi K. Sharma, Research Microbiologist, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
“Development of a Cell Based Functional Assay for the Detection of Botulinum Neurotoxin Type A & E”

The standard procedure for definitive detection of BoNT-producing Clostridia is a culture method combined with neurotoxin detection using a standard mouse bioassay. The mouse bioassay is highly sensitive and specific, but it is expensive and time-consuming and there are ethical concerns due to use of laboratory animals. Cell based assays provide an alternative for mouse bioassay in screening for BoNT-producing Clostridia. Here, we describe a cell-based assay utilizing a fluorescence reporter construct with full length SNAP-25 as the linker, expressed in a neuronal cell model to study toxin activity in situ. Our data indicates that PC-12 cells have significant sensitivity to BoNT/A and E action and the assay can detect as little as 100 pM BoNT/A activity within living cells. Of the in vitro approaches published in the literature for BoNT detection, we believed that cell-based methods provide a model that more closely approximates the in vivo model and have a potential to at least reduce and refine animal assays if not replace it.

Sample Prep Conference Overview:
SAMPLE PREP EAST Conference is the 8th meeting in the Knowledge Foundation’s Sample Prep Conference Series - an internationally recognized meeting for experts in sample preparation technologies for detection, identification, diagnostics and analysis of biomedical, biological and chemical agents, substances and threats in point-of-care, laboratory and field settings will explore the latest R&D developments, ready-to-market technologies, and their applications by exploring the following topical areas:

• Robust methodologies for sample collection, (pre-)concentration, lysis, and target extraction
• Critical role of sample prep in early diagnostics
• Rapid sample-to-sequence techniques
• Point-of-care sampling, detection and analysis
• Sample preparation with microfluidics
• Sample prep-on-a-chip
• Robust sampling methodologies (automation, high-throughput, combinatorial approach in sample prep)
• Alternative amplification techniques for sensitive sample prep
• Sample preparation as a separate system vs. an integrated module approach
• End-user prospective for biodetection and sampling technologies and devices
• Alternative and disruptive approaches to sample preparation and applications
• Field-ready devices: compatibility/reliability/scalability

Sample Prep is Organized by the Knowledge Foundation
The Knowledge Foundation integrates scientific ingenuity and real-world applications by fostering collaborative research at the rapidly changing intersection of science and business. Known for providing members of its Technology Commercialization Alliance with direct and unbiased state-of-the-art scientific information, the Knowledge Foundation is uniquely qualified to provide wider exposure for important developments in the emerging fields of alternative energy, nanotechnology, and chemical & biological detection technologies.

Contact:
The Knowledge Foundation
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Phone: (617) 232-7400
Fax: (617) 232-9171
Email: custserv(at)knowledgefoundation(dot)com
Website: http://www.knowledgefoundation.com

Media Contact:
Matt DiCecca
Conference Marketer
(617) 232-7400 ext. 203
Email: mdicecca(at)knowledgefoundation(dot)com

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