36 Invasive Aspergillosis Screening in COVID-19 and Critical Care Patients


With the emergence of COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, there has been a marked increase in patients being admitted into Intensive Care Units (ICU) and particularly those requiring invasive ventilation. In light of this, new guidance has been provided by the European Confederation of Medical Microbiology (ECMM) for the diagnosis and management of patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and/or ICU treatment under mechanical ventilation due to suspected pneumonia.


The ECMM specifi cally recommends the use of IMMY’s Aspergillus GM LFA both as part of the initial microbiological diagnostic pathway in all ICU and/or ARDS ventilation patients and also as part of a continual, tri-weekly screening program for SARS-CoV-2 and Infl uenza A/B positive patients.


Available from Alpha Laboratories, the Aspergillus GM LFA is an immunochromatographic test system for the qualitative detection of Aspergillus Galactomannan in serum and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) samples, providing a simple, rapid diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis, an opportunistic fungal infection caused by species of the Aspergillus genus.


The Aspergillus GM LFA works synergistically with other procedures such as microbiological culture, biopsy histological examination and


radiographic evidence, combining to aid in the diagnosis of aspergillosis. It is easy to use, and provides high sensitivity, specifi city and a rapid 30-minute test time, eliminating the need for batch testing and speeding up your results.


The sõna LFA Cube Reader simplifi es the assessment of the intensity of the appearing lines, and is intended to be used as an aid in the interpretation of results of the Aspergillus GM LFA. More information online: ilmt.co/PL/OKGD


53702pr@reply-direct.com


Two New Powerful Stirrers Announced


With an 850W motor, the RCT 5 digital magnetic stirrer from IKA now offers signifi cantly more power and has a ceramic-coated set-up plate; there is also an adapter for using round heating and reaction blocks. The NANOSTAR 7.5 digital is only the size of an apple and is designed for stirring quantities of up to 5 litres. It provides constant torque over the entire speed range.


Both models are extremely robust, with displays made of hardened, chemical-resistant glass and an ideal team for handling different heating and stirring tasks. The rectangular set-up plate of the RCT 5 digital is particularly scratch-resistant compared to conventional magnetic stirrers and achieves effi cient temperature control and mixing results up to 300mPas. Furthermore, highly viscous liquids can be heated and thoroughly mixed with the RCT 5 digital.


More information online: ilmt.co/PL/vD1W 54414@reply-direct.com


Optimised Microplate for SARS-CoV-2 Nucleic Acid Purifi cation


Index of Advertisers Alpha Laboratories Ltd


Aspect Scientifi c Ltd Bigneat Ltd


21 9 5


Biopharma Process Systems Ltd 27 Brand GmbH + Co KG IKA England Ltd LabWare Ltd


7 OBC


Metrohm (UK) Ltd Porvair Sciences Ltd


Scientifi c Laboratory Supplies Ltd


Teknomek Ltd


OFC, 8 29 19


12,13 IFC


Porvair Sciences has introduced a new 2.2ml 96 deep well plate specifically designed to be fully compatible with the Thermo Scientific™ KingFisher™ range of nucleic acid purification systems.


For many labs, up-front sample preparation and handling represents a major bottleneck in their research workflow, as it is largely done manually. Widely used for the nucleic acid purification step in SARS-CoV-2 testing, the KingFisher™ Flex instrument can process 96 samples per run when paired with 96 deep-well microplates. These systems are reported to drastically reduce processing time and increase productivity.


Krzysztof Kielmann, Microplates product manager at Porvair Sciences explained: “As the COVID-19 pandemic has spread around the world the volume of RT-PCR tests required to detect and trace the spread of the virus has grown exponentially. With KingFisher™ systems offering one of the most widely used workfl ow solutions for medium to high-throughput SARS-CoV-2 testing the quantity of 96-well plates required by labs has grown enormously. However, many labs have struggled to fi nd suitable 96-well deep well plates for their KingFisher™ systems and have had to compromise performance in order to maintain testing volumes.”


Designed for compatibility and efficiency, each v-shaped bottom well in Porvair’s new plate supports the specialised magnetic tips of all KingFisher™ Instruments perfectly maximising liquid sample collection, mixing and uptake during the purification process. From sample collection, mixing to purification, the Porvair Sciences 96 deep well plate is designed to ensure reproducible purification of nucleic acids from SARS-CoV-2 patient samples.


Porvair Sciences low affinity deep well plates are manufactured in a cleanroom production environment using virgin polypropylene that has the lowest leachables, extractables and is free from DNase and RNase. This allows SARS-CoV-2 test samples to be purified with the confidence of no risk of contamination or interference during the magnetic particle processing used by KingFisher™ nucleic acid purification systems.


More information online: ilmt.co/PL/qDvo 53950pr@reply-direct.com


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LABMATE UK & IRELAND - MARCH 2021


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