Analytica 2018

••• 7 ••• Innovationen “LegioTyper”: New microarray rapid test Innovative lm-based measuring chip enables faster detection of Legionella pathogen Legionella are rod-shaped bacte- ria that can cause life-threatening pneumonia in humans. They mul- tiply in warm water and can be dispersed into the air via cooling towers, evaporative recooling sys- tems and hot water systems. The most dangerous among the almost 50 species of Legionella is a subtype of Legionella pneu- mophila. It is responsible for 90 per cent of all infections. When an outbreak occurs, the source of the germs must be identified as soon as possible to prevent fur- ther infections. Similar to a paternity test, the ori- gin of the outbreak is confirmed when the germs in the process water of a technical system ex- actly match those identified in the patient. However, often numerous systems must be tested in the pro- cess, and the requisite cultivation for the test takes around ten days. Meanwhile there is a rapid test for detecting the Legionella path- ogen in the clinic. It identifies the compounds formed by Legionella in the urine of patients. “Unfor- tunately, this quick test serves only as a first indication and is not suitable for screening the water of technical systems,” says PD Dr. Michael Seidel, head of the research group at the Chair of Analytical Chemistry and Water Chemistry of the Technical Uni- versity of Munich. The team of scientists thus de- veloped a measuring chip in the context of the “LegioTyper” pro- ject funded by the German Fed- eral Ministry of Education and Research. This chip not only de- tects the dangerous pathogen Legionella pneumophila but also identifies which of the approxi- mately 20 subtypes is present. The system can be deployed for environmental hygiene as well as clinical diagnostics. In combina- tion with a second, DNA-based method, the system can even dis- tinguish between dead and living Legionella pathogens. This allows the success of disinfection meas- ures to be monitored. The project participants will present their sys- tem to the public for the first time at the Analytica 2018 trade fair in Munich (Hall 3, Booth 315). First author Catharina Kober with the LegioTyper-chip Photo: Jonas Bemetz / TUM Continued from page 1 www.labworld-china.com +86 10 58036295 / +86 21 33392421 alice.huang@ubmsinoexpo.com LAB World China 2018 20-22 June 2018, SNIEC, Shanghai, China REGISTER NOW Scan the QR code to get your free pass! Led by Top Brands Asia's Leading Pharmaceutical Lab Equipment Event 40,000+ Pharma Buyers, 15,000+ R&D Professionals 80+ Onsite Conferences and Activities to Learn Latest Trends Co-located with: