Alpha-Fetoprotein, AFP ELISA Kit (Quantitative)

Enteroviruses are single-stranded positive-sense RNA viruses that primarily cause self-limiting gastrointestinal or respiratory illness. In some cases, these viruses can invade the central nervous system, causing life-threatening neurological diseases including encephalitis, meningitis and acute flaccid paralysis (AFP). As we near the global eradication of poliovirus, formerly the major cause of AFP, the number of AFP cases have not diminished implying a non-poliovirus etiology. As the number of enteroviruses linked with neurological disease is expanding, of which many had previously little clinical significance, these viruses are becoming increasingly important to public health. Our current understanding of these non-polio enteroviruses is limited, especially with regards to their neurovirulence. Elucidating the molecular pathogenesis of these viruses is paramount for the development of effective therapeutic strategies. This review summarizes the clinical diseases associated with neurotropic enteroviruses and discusses recent advances in the understanding of viral invasion of the central nervous system, cell tropism and molecular pathogenesis as it correlates with host responses.

Current strategies for the detection of disease biomarkers often require enzymatic assays that may have limited sensitivity due to inferior stability and vulnerable catalytic activity of the enzyme. A new enzyme-free amplification method for identifying suitable biomarkers is necessary to lower the limit of detection and improve many critical diagnosis applications. Here, we presented an enzyme-free amplified plasmonic immunoassay that enhanced the detection sensitivity of disease biomarkers by combining a novel plasmon-induced silver photoreduction system with a silver nanoparticle (AgNP)-linked immunoassay. The key step to achieving ultrasensitivity was to use Ag+ from dissolved AgNPs that control the growth rate of the silver coating on plasmonic nanosensors under visible light illumination. We demonstrated the outstanding sensitivity and robustness of this assay by detecting the disease biomarker alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) at a low concentration of 3.3 fg mL(-1). The detection of AFP was further confirmed in the sera of hepatocellular carcinoma patients.