Update on new LNA flow-FISH application for RNA viruses, April 11, 2011 http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110411006007/en/Technique-Tracks-Viral-Infections-Aids-Development-Antiviral

New Technique Tracks Viral Infections, Aids Development of Antiviral Drugs

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory Center for Bio-Molecular Science and Engineering have developed a method to detect the presence of viruses in cells and to study their growth. Targeting a virus that has ribonucleic acid (RNA) as its genetic makeup, the new technique referred to as locked nucleic acid (LNA) flow cytometry-fluorescence in situ hybridization (flow-FISH), involves the binding of an LNA probe to viral RNA. While individual parts of the technique have been developed previously, Drs. Kelly Robertson and Eddie Chang, in collaboration with researchers at the NRL Lab for Biosensors and Biomaterials, demonstrate for the first time that the combination of LNA probes with flow-FISH can be used to quantify viral RNA in infected cells. This also allows the scientists to monitor the changes in viral RNA accompanying antiviral drug treatment.