Scientists working at the Third Military Medical University in Chongqing, China have developed a technology to quickly identify a blood sample’s blood type. It relies on using antibodies that target A and B antigens that give blood its type, and a dye that is activated when the antibodies are in attack mode. The same was done for the D antigen, which gives the plus or minus to the blood type.
The sample is placed on a plate with a combination of antibody and dye, and the color of the plate changes depending on if a reaction is occurring. It stays brown if nothing is happening.
A single test takes only 30 seconds to provide a result, which can be highly useful in emergency situations in which transfusion needs to be initiated as soon as possible. The team tested the technique on over 3,000 known blood samples, demonstrating an accuracy of 99.9%.
Study in Science Translational Medicine: A dye-assisted paper-based point-of-care assay for fast and reliable blood grouping…
Image caption: (A) ABO forward strip, (B) F&R assay, and (C) ABO and Rh group multiplex antigen assays. I and II represent the forward blood-grouping observation windows; III and IV represent the reverse blood-grouping observation windows. The observation zone is located between the two dotted lines as shown in the platforms of the ABO and Rh group assays (C). A strip without antibody (BCG only) was used for quality control (QC).
(hat tip: New Scientist)