UBI® SCoV EIA
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PUBLICATION ON UBI® SCoV EIA
UBI (United Biomedical, Inc) of Hauppauge, NY USA and UBI-Asia of Hsin Chu, Taiwan, have developed the first synthetic peptide-based diagnostic test for SARS. The UBI test is an enzyme-linked immunoassay designed to detect antibodies against the SARS coronavirus. The high stringency of the synthetic peptides makes for an immunoassay that distinguishes infection by the SARS virus from infection by other pneumonia-causing pathogens such as influenza and mycoplasma.
The UBI immunoassay for SARS was developed in an accelerated program by researchers at UBI (Hauppauge, NY), and UBI-Asia (Hsin Chu, Taiwan) in collaboration with an academic research team led by Dr. Chun Nan Lee of National Taiwan University Medical School and her colleague Dr. Kao Chuan Lian. The new immunoassay has been tested on over 1000 serum samples in Taiwan.
The synthetic peptides of the UBI immunoassay correspond to pieces of several proteins of the SARS coronavirus. The peptides are chemically synthesized rather than produced by infectious SARS virus, making the test safe to manufacture and use. These precise peptide markers impart the test with the high sensitivity needed to track the transmission of SARS with confidence, without undue false positive reactions. The UBI test will be used in national surveys to track SARS. It will be available from UBI and UBI-Asia under Investigational Device Exemptions in the US and Taiwan. The test for SARS antibodies is especially useful to track the trail of the SARS coronavirus, in conjunction with molecular tests for presence of the SARS coronavirus itself.
Coronavirus from SARS isolated in FRhK-4 cells. Negative stained virus particles.
Department of Microbiology,
The University of Hong Kong and the Government Virus Unit,
Department of Health,
Hong Kong SAR China