Protein Biochip for Diagnosis ofAutoimmune Diseases

Whatman plc, a global leader in separations and protein array technology announced that its multiplex protein biochip, branded CombiChip, has received CE Registration for the detection of autoimmune diseases. This novel assay system was developed in a partnership with Privates Institut für Immunologie und Molekulargenetik, a premier German laboratory that specializes in autoimmune and other clinical diagnostic assays. CombiChip, which only requires a single, low volume serum sample to generate results for 14 different analytes, effectively reduces the time of analysis to three hours. The biochip uses an IgG concentration calibrator to quantitatively measure the presence of 14 auto-antibodies for each single patients sample. 64 patient samples can be measured in parallel. CombiChip Autoimmune 1.0 identifies antibodies associated with collagenosis and vasculitis-related diseases, including Lupus erythematosus and scleroderma.