Clinical analysis by microchip capillary electrophoresis

10.1373/clinchem.2005.059600Clinical Chemistry52137-45CLCH

Concordance study of 3 direct-to-consumer genetic-testing services.

BACKGROUND: Several companies offer direct-toconsumer (DTC) genetic testing to evaluate ancestry and wellness. Massive-scale testing of thousands of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) is not error free, and such errors could translate into misclassification of risk and produce a false sense of security or unnecessary anxiety in an individual. We evaluated 3 DTC services and a genomics service that are based on DNA microarray or solution genotyping with hydrolysis probes (TaqMan® analysis) and compared the test results obtained for the same individual. METHODS: We evaluated the results from 3 DTC services (23andMe, deCODEme, Navigenics) and a genomics-analysis service (Expression Analysis). RESULTS: The concordance rates between the services for SNP data were >99.6%; however, there were some marked differences in the relative disease risks assigned by the DTC services (e.g., for rheumatoid arthritis, the range of relative risk was 0.9 -1.85). A possible reason for this difference is that different SNPs were used to calculate risk for the same disease. The reference population also had an influence on the relative disease risk. CONCLUSIONS: Our study revealed excellent concordance between the results of SNP analyses obtained from different companies with different platforms, but we noted a disparity in the data for risk, owing to both differences in the SNPs used in the calculation and the reference population used. The larger issues of the utility of the information and the need for risk data that match the user's ethnicity remain, however

Polymeric nanotubes and nanorods for biomedical applications

10.2174/157341309788185398Current Nanoscience52182-18

Detection of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli by microchip capillary electrophoresis.

10.1007/978-1-59745-372-1_12Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.)509169-17

Nanotechnologic nutraceuticals: Nurturing or nefarious? [3]

10.1373/clinchem.2005.061754Clinical Chemistry522331-332CLCH

Microchip capillary electrophoresis.

10.1007/978-1-59745-372-1_11Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.)509159-16

Miniaturized detection technology in molecular diagnostics

10.1586/14737159.5.4.549Expert Review of Molecular Diagnostics54549-559ERMD

Increased amplification efficiency of microchip-based PCR by dynamic surface passivation

Surface passivation is critical for effective PCR using silicon-glass chips. We tested a dynamic polymer-based surface passivation method. Polyethylene glycol 8000 (PEG 8000) or polyvinylpyrrolidone 40 (PVP-40) applied at 0.75% (w/v) in the reaction mixture produced significant surface passivation effects using either native or SiO2-precoated silicon-glass chips. PCR amplification was achieved from human genomic DNA as a template as well as from human lymphocytes. The dynamic surface passivation effect of PEG 8000 remained similar under both conditions. Dynamic surface passivation offers a simple and cost-effective method to make microfabricated silicon-glass chips PCR friendly. It can also be used in combination with static passivation (silicon oxide surface layer) to further improve PCR performance using silicon-glass PCR chips