Bacteria and CTCs Rapidly Isolated from Difficult Samples

New technology enables bacteria or specific target cells to be rapidly isolated from samples such as sputum and blood that contain high levels of debris.

Called the KymaSep system, a combination of magnetic and ultrasound forces (acoustomagnetic) are utilized to control magnetic beads in a flow-through chamber. The coated beads, which are highly specific for the target bacteria or circulating tumor cells (CTCs), can be captured and held on the side of the chamber during aggressive washing and then automatically resuspended and collected.

Intact cells survive the process and can be used for further analysis including microscopy and culture. Unaffected by background cells or debris, acoustomagnetic separation is ideal for a wide range of applications that have proved too challenging for traditional rapid methods, particularly those where target cells or bacteria are present in very low numbers. By processing much larger volumes than other techniques, KymaSep captures sufficient cells to produce highly concentrated samples.

Ongoing applications of the technology include the rapid detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB) in sputum samples and the capture of CTCs in blood; these applications could have enormous impact in the diagnosis and management of these global killers.

There are 8.9 million new active cases of TB annually with nearly 2 million deaths, making rapid diagnosis a priority for healthcare providers around the world. ProKyma plans to develop a rapid detection test that can be used at the point of care.

CTC analysis is rapidly emerging as an important tool for detecting certain cancers and monitoring response to chemotherapy. Conventional detection is complex and expensive and ProKyma's technology will simplify testing and make it more accessible.

Prokyma Technologies Ltd (Liverpool, UK) won the "Innovation in Diagnostics Project of the Year” award at the Northwest Biomedical Awards on November 12, 2010, for developing the new technology. The award was presented by ThermoFisher (Waltham, MA, USA) to Prokyma, which is a spin out company from the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl; Porton Down, UK).

Related Links:
Prokyma Technologies Ltd.
ThermoFisher
Defence Science and Technology Laboratory