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As ‘omics moves into industrial and commercial applications, there is a need for quality and process control to ensure safety and efficacy of products and
NIST has taken advantage of recent technological advances to develop polymer microfluidic cell culture systems that provide a level of control over the cellular
The development of new platforms for characterization of complex microbial samples are hampered by lack of reproducibility and comparability across different
The availability of safe pure drinking water in the United States is taken for granted. The presence of dangerous microorganisms, viruses and toxins in our
Biomarkers play an increasingly important role in disease detection and treatment. As one of the Biomarker Reference Laboratories (BRLs) in the Early Detection
An important determinant of cellular response to drugs and toxins is the chemical and physical nature of the extracellular matrix (ECM) to which cells are
In conjunction with NCI/NIH, NIST is developing methods to improve mRNA amplification from small biological samples. Typical sample processing requires
The use of metabolite, lipid, and protein profiles for systems biology, biomedical research, and clinical applications has risen dramatically over recent years
NIST is developing methods for the quantification of clinically-relevant protein biomarkers by mass spectrometry. Some methods are intended to establish
Forensic DNA typing is currently conducted in approximately eight to ten hours. The process includes DNA extraction, quantitation, multiplex PCR amplification
C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in serum or plasma have been used as an indicator of inflammation and infection. Recent evidence also suggests that CRP levels
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a growing problem in the U.S., and current estimates suggest that more than 20 million Americans are affected by this disease
Hormones are chemical messengers that regulate many life functions, and deviations from normal levels can indicate serious health problems. Measurement of
The accuracy of clinical diagnostic measurements is essential for reliable diagnosis and cost-effective treatment of disease. NIST's involvement in reference
Cardiac troponin I (cTnI) is considered the 'gold standard' for the diagnosis of myocardial infarction and the assessment of cardiac damage. Yet this clinical
Serum proteomics, the detection and measurement of as many proteins in a serum sample as possible, could be an important element of personalized medicine
Digital PCR (dPCR) is a method used to quantify nucleic acids (DNA, RNA, cDNA). At NIST we are using microfluidic and emulsion-based dPCR platforms for
There is ongoing interest in utilizing DNA typing methods for biometric purposes. Forensic DNA typing using STR markers has been performed in the criminal
NIST has produced several PCR-based DNA Profiling Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) for the forensic community. The primary uses of these materials are
As a result of their novel properties, nanoparticles are expected to be produced and incorporated into consumer products at exponentially increasing quantities
Chipscale electronic devices such as field-effect transistors (FETs) are being developed for biochemical applications ranging from clinical diagnostics to