Bridge Amplification for Blood Banking Tests

The long term objective of this project is to develop a novel diagnostic testing methodology that csafety and volume of the blood supply. The basis for this method is an innovative amplification techBRIDGE allows for the simultaneous detection of a plurality of organisms or cellular antigens in a ssimplicity and sensitivity of BRIDGE will allow more extensive screening while reducing the overall(currently at $10 $25 per unit of blood). In this Phase I study, we will determine the feasibility omodel system. A single amplification reaction will be used to detect bacterial contamination in platclassify the bacterial load as gram positive or gram negative. Successful completion of this study sfollowing critical feature of BRIDGE. Multiple amplifications can be performed using distinct primerimmobilized to select pixels of an array. Immobilized primers and amplification products facilitatewhile significantly reducing labor costs. Dr. Bing envisions an automated test system that can screebacteria as well as type for red cell and platelet antigens in a single test.