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This CDC developed invention is a novel device for a miniature, nonradioactive bipolar charger to electrically charge aerosol particles for use in personal and portable aerosol instrumentation. Such devices are an integral component of aerosol instruments employing electrical mobility-based techniques. Current, commercial state-of-the-art mobility instruments employ aerosol chargers using radioactivity to achieve bipolar particle charging and, therefore, are not suitable for field-portable instruments.

This CDC developed invention pertains to Streptococcus pneumoniae protein "pneumococcal fimbrial protein A (PfpA)," as well as the encoding pfpA gene. S. pneumoniae linked pneumococcal disease is prevalent among the very young, the elderly and also immunocompromised individuals. This invention covers the breadth of directly PfpA-related technology that might be employed for development of diagnostic tests for S. pneumoniae and/or vaccines directed against the pathogen.

One of the problems with the development of current therapies for HIV infection is that the virus rapidly develops resistance to drugs such as reverse transcriptase (RT) inhibitors.

CDC researchers have developed a multiplexed diagnostic assay for sensitive detection and distinction between viral group members based on the presence/absence of infection-generated antibodies within a clinical serum sample. For example, this assay can be used for rapid discrimination of a clinical unknown as specifically a West Nile or St. Louis encephalitis viral infection. This is particularly beneficial as these two viruses are typically difficult to distinguish by standard serological assays.

This new technique uses microsphere/microbead-based flow-analysis as a platform.

This CDC-developed technology relates to novel vaccines or boosters directed against pulmonary tuberculosis. There is currently only a single vaccine against tuberculosis, the (Bacillus Calmette-Guérin) BCG vaccine. Reports suggest widely variable effectiveness for the BCG vaccine and that BCG administration has very limited success against prevention of the primary pulmonary form of the disease.

CDC research scientists have developed a method to identify and quantify the activity of pathogenic bacterial adenylate cyclase toxins by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Bacterial protein toxins are among the most potent natural poisons known, causing paralysis, immune system collapse, hemorrhaging and death in some cases.

This CDC assay aims to lessen the anti-malarial drug counterfeiting epidemic by testing for the artemisinin-type drugs (the active compound), through the use of a simple, inexpensive colorimetric test. Poor quality and counterfeit drugs pose an immediate threat to public health and undermine malaria control efforts, resulting in resistant-parasites and invalidates effective compounds, i.e.

This CDC developed optimization technology allows one to characterize the behavior of the coefficient of variation (CV) for a range of mass spectrometer machine settings. Surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization (SELDI) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) are used for the early detection of numerous diseases, for example cervical cancer . A critical step in the analytical process is the optimization of experiment and machine settings to ensure the best possible reproducibility of results, as measured by the CV.

Disease caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States and developing countries. Pneumococcal disease is prevalent among the very young, the elderly and immunocompromised individuals. This invention is an improved, immunogenic peptide construct consisting of a combination of antigenic epitopes of the PsaA (37-kDa) protein from S. pneumoniae.

This CDC developed collection device is a small (approximately 1 cubic foot) open-sided container that attracts mosquitoes seeking a daytime resting location. The container is dark-colored and constructed of molded wood-fiber or recycled, high-density plastic. Mosquitoes that enter the dark space of the container are aspirated through a battery-powered fan into a collection receptacle. The receptacle is especially attractive to Culex and Anopheles mosquitos' vectors of West Nile Virus and malaria parasites, respectively.