IMDNA develops infectious disease research assays for bacterial, viral, fungal, parasitic, antimicrobial-resistance, co-infection, and host-response studies. Research programs can be organized around pathogen detection, pathogen characterization, resistance-associated targets, immune-response pathways, epidemiological questions, or longitudinal treatment-response research.
Technology can include qPCR/RT-qPCR for targeted nucleic-acid research, ELISA for focused quantitative protein studies, and multiplex bead-based immunoassays for simultaneous cytokine, chemokine, and soluble-protein profiling. Each platform is selected according to the analyte and intended research use rather than treated as interchangeable.
Bacterial, viral, fungal, parasitic, mixed-infection, and emerging-pathogen research.
Targeted nucleic-acid workflows for pathogen, gene-expression, and selected resistance-associated research.
Focused or multianalyte protein profiling for cytokines, chemokines, and research-selected soluble biomarkers.
Investigate selected genetic resistance determinants while keeping genotype and phenotypic susceptibility conceptually distinct.
Build around specimen, pathogens, analytes, study design, surveillance objective, or emerging research question.
Infectious disease research spans distinct pathogen classes and biological layers. WHO defines antimicrobial resistance across bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites, while CDC and WHO surveillance frameworks demonstrate the importance of laboratory-based monitoring across respiratory, enteric, sexually transmitted, fungal, and antimicrobial-resistant infections.
These areas illustrate how assay development can be organized by syndrome and biological question. They are research frameworks—not diagnostic claims or fixed catalog configurations.
Multiplex molecular investigation of viral and bacterial respiratory targets and associated host-response pathways.
Targeted research for urinary pathogens, polymicrobial profiles, and selected antimicrobial-resistance determinants.
Molecular research across sexually transmitted and urogenital microorganisms, including bacterial, viral, fungal, and protozoal targets where appropriate.
Investigation of bacterial, viral, and parasitic enteric targets and associated host-response biology.
Research into upper-airway and ENT-associated microbial targets, co-infection, and local inflammatory pathways.
Research focused on microbial targets associated with keratitis, conjunctivitis, endophthalmitis, and other ocular infectious processes.
Focused molecular research into dermatophytes and other fungi associated with nail and superficial fungal disease.
Broad molecular investigation of polymicrobial urogenital, wound, and soft-tissue infection biology.
Research into vaginal pathogens, microbial imbalance, mixed infection, and community-associated molecular profiles.
Targeted molecular research into high-risk HPV genotypes, persistence, co-infection, epidemiology, and HPV-associated oncogenic biology.
Research into bloodstream, device-associated, opportunistic, and healthcare-associated pathogens and resistance mechanisms.
Custom assay development for emerging, uncommon, region-specific, or investigator-selected infectious-disease targets.
Pathogen presence alone may not answer every research question. IMDNA can combine pathogen-focused molecular assays with host-response and resistance-associated research when the study design requires multiple biological layers.
Target-specific nucleic-acid detection and quantitative or semi-quantitative research where the assay and standards support that use.
Study multiple microorganisms within the same specimen while accounting for assay competition, target abundance, and biological context.
Investigate cytokine, chemokine, interferon, and inflammatory gene/protein pathways associated with infection or experimental exposure.
Research selected virulence-associated genes, pathogen-specific biological pathways, or strain-associated molecular features.
Profile selected resistance genes or mutations while recognizing that molecular detection does not always predict the full phenotypic susceptibility profile.
Support research on prevalence, seasonality, circulation patterns, emerging targets, and molecular surveillance.
Study epithelial, mucosal, wound, ocular, respiratory, or gastrointestinal host-response programs where scientifically appropriate.
Compare longitudinal pathogen or host-response measurements across experimental treatment groups and time points.
Investigate targeted community-associated organisms while distinguishing focused qPCR panels from comprehensive microbiome sequencing.
The analytical method should match the research analyte. Pathogen nucleic acid, host transcript abundance, and soluble-protein concentration are different measurements and require independent assay validation.
Best suited for: targeted pathogen nucleic acids, selected resistance determinants, RNA-virus research, and focused host gene-expression studies.
Development principle: use MIQE 2.0 concepts for assay specificity, controls, amplification efficiency, analytical range, normalization where applicable, and transparent reporting.
Best suited for: focused quantitative measurement of one soluble protein or a small number of pathogen- or host-associated proteins.
Development principle: use a fit-for-purpose ligand-binding framework covering working range, precision, selectivity, matrix effects, parallelism/recovery where meaningful, stability, and lot performance.
Best suited for: simultaneous measurement of multiple cytokines, chemokines, and other soluble proteins in host-response research.
Development principle: evaluate each analyte in the multiplex context and control matrix effects, dynamic-range differences, cross-talk, protocol adherence, vendor/lot effects, and inter-run variability.
WHO defines AMR across bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. Molecular assays can provide valuable information about selected resistance determinants, but resistance genotype and phenotypic antimicrobial susceptibility are not universally equivalent. The biological effect of a detected gene or mutation depends on organism, expression, gene context, resistance mechanism, and the antimicrobial being evaluated.
A defensible infectious-disease research assay should be fit for purpose. Target selection, specimen type, platform, controls, analytical performance, and biological interpretation should be defined before broad claims are made.
| Stage | Best-Practice Approach | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Define intended research use | Specify pathogen class, syndrome, analyte, specimen, comparator, time point, surveillance question, and endpoint. | Determines whether pathogen DNA/RNA, host RNA, protein, or combined measurements are appropriate. |
| 2. Select targets using evidence | Use authoritative pathogen biology, sequence databases, surveillance literature, resistance mechanisms, and prespecified hypotheses. | Reduces arbitrary target assembly and improves interpretability. |
| 3. Match analyte to technology | Use qPCR/RT-qPCR for nucleic acids, ELISA for focused proteins, and multiplex bead assays for multianalyte proteins. | Nucleic-acid and protein measurements answer different biological questions. |
| 4. Establish inclusivity & exclusivity | Evaluate intended target coverage, relevant sequence diversity, cross-reactivity, and potential interference from related organisms. | Pathogen assays require evidence that target detection is both sufficiently inclusive and appropriately specific. |
| 5. Characterize analytical performance | Assess precision, analytical sensitivity/range, specificity, efficiency, matrix effects, interference, multiplex compatibility, and stability as appropriate. | Prevents technical effects from being interpreted as biological findings. |
| 6. Use appropriate controls | Include extraction/process controls, positive controls, negative/no-template controls, inhibition controls, and platform-specific QC materials as appropriate. | Controls must test the major failure modes of the actual workflow. |
| 7. Verify with characterized samples | Use well-characterized positive and negative materials, contrived samples where justified, and independent biological specimens when available. | Analytical performance alone does not establish biological generalizability. |
| 8. Separate molecular AMR from phenotype | Interpret detected resistance determinants in organism-specific context and compare with phenotypic susceptibility when that relationship is part of the study. | Absence or presence of one gene does not necessarily define the complete resistance phenotype. |
Infectious-disease molecular research requires careful separation of detection, viability, causation, host response, colonization, and antimicrobial susceptibility.
Syndromic specimens often contain multiple organisms, commensal flora, or colonizers. The biological importance of a detected target depends on specimen type, anatomic site, host status, sampling quality, pathogen abundance, and the research question.
Therefore: IMDNA positions these assays for pathogen, pathway, biomarker, surveillance, and translational research—not as universal diagnostic algorithms.
A rigorous assay program connects pathogen biology, specimen selection, analyte choice, analytical validation, and biologically appropriate interpretation.
Each technology requires its own validation strategy. qPCR/RT-qPCR should follow current amplification-quality principles; ELISA requires matrix-appropriate ligand-binding characterization; and multiplex bead assays require analyte-level validation and standardized execution.
Define collection method, transport, storage, extraction, specimen volume, matrix, and freeze-thaw exposure.
Use sequence-informed design, inclusivity/exclusivity analysis, and empirical testing against relevant organisms and matrices.
Evaluate target competition, channel compatibility, high/low target imbalance, analytical sensitivity, and reaction-level interference.
Assess range, precision, selectivity, matrix effects, recovery/parallelism where meaningful, stability, and lot effects.
Evaluate each analyte’s dynamic range, matrix sensitivity, cross-talk, low-end variability, bead recovery, protocol dependence, and batch performance.
Separate analytical optimization from biological verification and test generalizability in independent materials when appropriate.
Infectious disease research rarely fits one universal panel. IMDNA can develop integrated research solutions using qPCR/RT-qPCR, ELISA, multiplex bead-based immunoassays, or a scientifically justified combination of these technologies.
Whether your work focuses on respiratory pathogens, urinary infections, STIs, women’s health, gastrointestinal disease, ocular infection, fungal disease, wound infection, HPV, healthcare-associated infection, antimicrobial resistance, host response, emerging pathogens, molecular surveillance, or treatment-response research, IMDNA can develop a focused assay strategy around the organisms, analytes, and pathways that matter to your study.