Researchers at Imperial are developing methods for measuring host biomarkers in serum for the diagnosis of infections. The team has developed a protocol that uses untargeted high-resolution liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry to perform global metabolic profiling. Such analysis was able to differentiate viral from bacterial infections, with the molecule ddhC being more abundant in patients with viral infections than in those without. These findings highlight a future diagnostic role for ddhC in viral diagnosis, pandemic preparedness, and acute infection management.
The Imperial researchers working on this are:
Special mention: National Phenome Centre
Publication: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8801973/
