The Laboratory of Virology of the Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute at the New York Blood Center (NYBC)


Background

The Virology Laboratory has been actively pursuing the goal of economical nucleic acid testing (NAT) with the ultimate goal of making single unit testing feasible.

Economical methods of nucleic acid extraction have been developed which are as efficient as commercial methods costing 20 times as much.

A Universal Beacon PCR technology has been developed which is insensitive to minor sequence variations and thus permits sensitive detection of all genotypes.

A methodology has been devised for shipment of virus containing serum samples at tropical temperatures which maintains viral nucleic acids intact for at least a month. A scientist for the Institute of Biologics in New Delhi has been trained in these procedures and, with funding for equipment from ICBS, is setting up a central lab to confirm the specificity of blood screening tests in India.

As Western Blot type confirmatory assays cost $30-80/test, and are thus not affordable in most of the developing world, economical NAT procedures will fulfill an urgent need.

Terms of Reference: 

Together with the Central Confirmatory Laboratory in New Delhi, the Laboratory of Virology at NYBC, will support training for NAT based Central Confirmatory laboratories in other countries. The laboratory will advise on purchase of economical reagents and equipment, and follow up on the performance of laboratories it helps establish.

Date of Designation: October 31, 2001