Description:
Invention Summary
The invention relates to methods for the detection and quantitation of the fungus Stachybotrys Chartarum by means of genetic amplification of a specimen. Stachybotrys chartarum is a toxigenic mold that has been implicated in the appearance of health effects in exposed individuals. This slow growing mold can colonize wet materials composed of cellulose. The invention employs QPCR (quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction) with primers for detecting and quantitating S. chartarum without the necessity of further employing estimated quantitation techniques.
Market Opportunity
Traditional methods of fungal identification include culture and microscopy analyses. However, these methods are laborious, time-consuming and require expertise. In addition, certain fungi are capable of causing health effects whether they are culturable or non-culturable. Other fungi are unable to produce classical structures under laboratory conditions that are necessary for identification.
Features & Benefits
• Quantitation of samples suspected of containing S. chartarum may be based on direct comparison to S. chartarum standards (absolute quantitation), thus, avoiding the inaccuracies of estimated quantitation where polymerase chain reaction inhibitors may co-extract with the DNA.
• By employing oligonucleotide primer sequences to amplify S. chartarum quantitation standards in parallel with unknown samples, an amplification curve can be constructed from which the concentrations of S. chartarum in the unknown samples may be interpolated.
Intellectual Property Patent No.: 6,733,999