Expert Insights

Enzymes play a pivotal role in a wide variety of industries. They not only speed manufacturing, but they can also improve quality, reduce waste and optimize product yield—ensuring more cost-efficiency and higher profitability. Most enzyme assays are based on spectroscopic techniques, with the two most used being absorption and fluorescence.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought much attention to the medical utility of rapid point-of-care (POC) tests and lateral flow assays. Although these assays are easy to use and provide quick diagnostic results at the point-of-care, the prevalence of false-positive and false-negative results has been one of the main limitations in their development.

To understand and improve the sensitivity and detection of rapid POC tests, researchers need to obtain insights into the critical components of lateral flow assay development. These components include IVDR/regulatory approvals, analyte and sample preparation, antibody selection, and detection chemistries.

This Expert Insights publication provides an overview of these components of lateral flow assay development. The studies and expert interview featured in this publication are intended to educate researchers on important considerations and strategies to enhance the design and development of rapid POC tests.

Emerging infectious disease is a rising area of focus for global health. In the last 50 years, over 40 new diseases have emerged globally. To understand and develop interventions for novel infectious diseases, researchers need to obtain insights into mechanisms such as pathogen infection and replication, host immune response, and post-infection immune status. To achieve these ends, scientists employ technologies such as advanced flow cytometry, ligand-based antibody binding assays, and live cell imaging and analysis to gain meaningful insights that allow for the rapid development of therapeutics.

Plastic is everywhere: researchers have been able to detect it on Mount Everest as well as in the Mariana Trench. Particularly alarming was the recently published study that found microplastics even in human blood. In order to solve this global problem, research is being conducted into ways of degrading polymer materials efficiently. In addition to chemical and physical methods, the enzymatic degradation of plastics in particular has become the focus of interest for many research groups.