Prionics®-Check PrioSTRIP
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About the Prionics®-Check PrioSTRIP
Prionics®-Check PrioSTRIP is the simplest and easiest BSE test yet devised. It comes in our unique 8-strip format and can handle a veritable stampede of tests - in sequence or in parallel. PrioSTRIP® is sophisticated and incredibly simple to use. One test takes as little as 100 minutes from brain to result. Because it is so simple and fast it is also very cost-effective. Staff, equipment and consumable costs are reduced to a minimum.
Test procedure
- Preparation of the brain sample and isolation of the TSE prion protein
The test sample is a small piece of obex, a defined region of the brain stem. The homogenized brain sample is incubated with an optimized reagent mixture consisting of digestion enzymes and a buffer solution. This solution degrades the normal prion protein. Only the TSE-specific prion protein remains in the test sample. - Immunological detection of BSE protein
The sample is then transferred to the test plate and mixed with the first antibody, which is conjugated to blue latex beads. The PrioSTRIP® combs are lowered into the sample mixture and left in the wells for 20 minutes. Antibody-prion protein complexes migrate up the strips and are bound at the test line. Uncomplexed antibodies bind at the control line. The result is interpreted immediately after the incubation, either visually or automatically - with the PrioSCAN®.
Testing times
The entire test procedure for one sample takes as little as 100 minutes from brain to result. 470 homogenized samples can be tested in parallel by one person in just over two hours.
Performance
PrioSTRIP® passed both the EU and the Swiss evaluation studies with flying colors. In 2004 the EU organized a field study of BSE tests on over 10,000 samples from healthy slaughtered animals and 200 samples of BSE-affected animals. The test scored 100% sensitivity and 100% specificity; all samples were identified correctly. Furthermore, the mean signal-to-cutoff ratio of negative samples was extremely low (0.009) and all negative values were in the same low signal-to-cutoff ratio range. Both of these factors reduce the risk of incorrect initial reactive. This demonstrates that the Prionics®-Check PrioSTRIP combines speed with reliability. In February 2005 the test was officially approved by the European Commission.
Selected Reading
Vidal E et al. Vet J. 2007 Aug 7; epub
Applicability of a rapid chromatographic immunoassay for analysis of the distribution of PrPBSE in confirmed BSE cases.
PubMed Abstract
Prionics®-Check tests allowed for CWD testing in the EU.
EC Decision on a survey for chronic wasting disease in cervids, March 19, 2007
