To determine the presence of Mycobacterium in an environment, a sample from the environment can be plated onto a growth medium that is selective for Mycobacterium. The agar based growth medium can include a high concentration of crystal violet, in excess of 0.5 μg/ml. The process may be made further selective for Mycobacterium by treating the sample with sodium dodecyl sulfate containing glycine hydrochloride for at least 4 minutes at room temperature, prior to plating. Mycobacterium colonies will generally appear white while other colonies will generally appear stained purple or another color.

A set of serum metabolic biomarkers and detection kit for detecting drug-resistant tuberculosis are provided. The set of the serum metabolic biomarkers includes 17 serum metabolic biomarkers. The 17 serum metabolic biomarkers are verified to be associated with tuberculosis based on the level changes of these biomarkers. The 17 metabolites includes taurine, homocysteine, uric acid, ascorbic acid, suberylglycine, uridine, dopamine 4-sulfate, inosinic acid, glyceraldehyde phosphate, [3-methoxy-4-(phosphoryl)phenyl]carbonyl sulfonic acid, nuclomedone, n4-cyclopropyl-6-(2,3-dichlorophenyl)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyrimidine-2,4-diimine, 1-[2-chlorine-2-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)ethenyl]-1,2,4-triazole, tetrachloro-phthalic anhydride, malotilate, fulvic acid, and L-neopterin. The serum metabolic biomarkers and detection kit for detecting drug-resistant tuberculosis can assist doctors in accurately diagnosing the disease, which is of great significance for the diagnosis and mass screening for drug-resistant tuberculosis.

A rapid detection method of a target biomolecule comprising an antigenic moiety is provided. The method includes providing a source biological sample comprising the target biomolecule; contacting the source biological sample to an ion-exchange medium; eluting the captured-target biomolecule from the ion-exchange medium as an eluate, and loading the eluate to a rapid diagnostic testing device comprising an antibody. The eluate comprises a concentrated form of the biomolecule in a solution having a salt concentration greater than 150 mM. A concentration of the target biomolecule in the eluate is in a range from about 2× to 25× compared to a concentration of the biomolecule in the source biological sample. The target biomolecule binds to the antibody under the salt concentration of greater than 150 mM. A device for rapid detection of target biomolecule is also provided.

The present invention concerns a composition comprising at least three peptides derived from Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigen Rv2626c, its use in the diagnostic of latently infected Mycobacterium tuberculosis (LTBI) subjects, corresponding methods of use and kits.

The specification relates generally to methods of detecting, diagnosing, and/or identifying pathogens, e.g., infectious disease pathogens and determining their drug sensitivity and appropriate methods of treatment. This invention also relates generally to methods of monitoring pathogen infection in individual subjects as well as larger populations of subjects.

In vitro method for discriminating latent from active TB. The present invention refers to an in vitro method for the differential diagnosis between active TB, preferably early stages of TB, and LTBI.

The present invention refers to the use of gene sequences or portions thereof characterized in that the same belong to the classes of in vitro and ex vivo induced, repressed or conserved genes in Mycobacterium tuberculosis currently infected human macrophages and to corresponding peptides or consensus peptides or proteins for the preparation of specific bio-markers for the diagnosis and prevention of active or latent disease.

The present invention broadly provides different compositions, kits, vectors, and methods including monoclonal antibodies directed to epitopes found within lipoarabinomannan (LAM) and phosphatidyl-myo-inositol mannoside 6 (PIM6) for the diagnosis and treatment of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infections.

A method of diagnosing or monitoring Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) infection, which method comprises detecting the presence of the polypeptide (MAP P900) encoded by the positive strand of IS900, or a fragment thereof, in a sample from a subject, wherein MAP P900, or a fragment thereof, is detected using an antibody, or an antigen-binding fragment thereof, that binds to MAP P900.

The present disclosure is generally directed to methods and systems for the rapid detection of mycobacteria in samples using lectin-conjugated silica coated magnetic nanoparticles (SMNPs). In this work, carbohydrates on the cell wall of the mycobacteria serve as binding sites for lectins conjugated on the surface of lectin-conjugated SMNPs. As the target species of mycobacteria bind to lectin-conjugated SMNPs, a precipitate forms, which can be magnetically separated from the bulk test solution to visually indicate the presence of the target species of mycobacteria. The present disclosure is utilized as an inexpensive and rapid point of care system in one embodiment. In another embodiment, the methods and systems are integrated into a lateral flow assay for rapid detection of the target species of mycobacteria. In yet another embodiment, the methods and systems are utilized to create a microfluidic detection device with increased sensitivity to mycobacteria in a sample.