J. Clin. Microbiol. doi:10.1128/JCM.00801-07
Copyright (c) 2007, American Society for Microbiology and/or the Listed Authors/Institutions. All Rights Reserved.
Rapid Detection and Molecular Serotyping of Adenovirus using PCR followed by Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry
Lawrence B. Blyn*,
Thomas A. Hall,
Brian Libby,
Raymond Ranken,
Rangarajan Sampath,
Karl Rudnick,
Emily Moradi,
Anjali Desai,
David Metzgar,
Kevin L. Russell,
Nikki E. Freed,
Melinda Balansay,
Michael P. Broderick,
Miguel A. Osuna,
Steven A. Hofstadler,
and
David J. Ecker
Ibis Biosciences, Inc. Carlsbad, California, and Department of Respiratory Disease Research, Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, California, and Science Applications International Corporation, San Diego, California
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email:
lblyn{at}isisph.com.
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Abstract |
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We have developed a PCR/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (PCR/ESI-MS) assay for the rapid detection, identification, and serotyping of human adenoviruses. The assay employs a high-performance mass spectrometer to "weigh" the amplicons obtained from PCR using primers designed to amplify known human adenoviruses. Masses are converted to base compositions and, by comparison against a database of the genetic sequences, the serotype present in a sample is determined. The performance of the assay was demonstrated with quantified viral standards and environmental and human clinical samples collected from a military training facility. Over 500 samples a day can be analyzed with sensitivities better than 100 genomes per reaction. This approach can be applied to many other families of infectious agents for rapid and sensitive analysis.