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Review
. 2010 Sep;50(9):2032-45.
doi: 10.1111/j.1537-2995.2010.02678.x.

Detection of blood-transmissible agents: can screening be miniaturized?

Chantal Fournier-Wirth  1 , Nicole Jaffrezic-Renault, Joliette Coste
Affiliations
Review

Detection of blood-transmissible agents: can screening be miniaturized?

Chantal Fournier-Wirth et al. Transfusion. 2010 Sep.

Abstract

Transfusion safety relating to blood-transmissible agents is a major public health concern, particularly when faced with the continuing emergence of new infectious agents. These include new viruses appearing alongside other known reemerging viruses (West Nile virus, Chikungunya) as well as new strains of bacteria and parasites (Plasmodium falciparum, Trypanosoma cruzi) and finally pathologic prion protein (variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease). Genomic mutations of known viruses (hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, human immunodeficiency virus) can also be at the origin of variants susceptible to escaping detection by diagnostic tests. New technologies that would allow the simultaneous detection of several blood-transmissible agents are now needed for the development and improvement of screening strategies. DNA microarrays have been developed for use in immunohematology laboratories for blood group genotyping. Their application in the detection of infectious agents, however, has been hindered by additional technological hurdles. For instance, the variability among and within genomes of interest complicate target amplification and multiplex analysis. Advances in biosensor technologies based on alternative detection strategies have offered new perspectives on pathogen detection; however, whether they are adaptable to diagnostic applications testing biologic fluids is under debate. Elsewhere, current nanotechnologies now offer new tools to improve the sample preparation, target capture, and detection steps. Second-generation devices combining micro- and nanotechnologies have brought us one step closer to the potential development of innovative and multiplexed approaches applicable to the screening of blood for transmissible agents.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest relevant to the manuscript submitted to TRANSFUSION.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Nanoparticles: applications in diagnostics.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Second generation of miniaturized systems.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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