The American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) held its 61st annual meeting and exposition in Anaheim, California, from July 25 to July 29. Attendance figures were not available from the AACC prior to publication. With over 9,000 members, the AACC is the leading US organization for clinical lab professionals.

The exhibition hall was busy on July 28, the day IBO visited. Of the more than 700 exhibitors, more than a quarter were from overseas and 115 were first-time exhibitors. China had the largest foreign presence with 48 companies exhibiting.

The show attracted a number of analytical instrument companies, including many that have not been traditionally associated with the clinical market. In fact, many analytical techniques familiar to research labs were on display as emerging diagnostic techniques, including sequencing, DNA microarrays and microfluidics.

One technique that clinical labs are taking a closer look at is MS. Many of the largest MS companies were at the show, and the MS workshop that IBO tried to attend was sold out. Applications of MS in clinical labs include vitamin D, immunosuppressants and steroids testing. MS is also widely used for newborn screening for multiple disorders.

Compared to immunoassays, MS for clinical applications can provide greater sensitivity and lower costs and requires less sample preparation. Many MS exhibitors at the show told IBO that the technique is beginning to move out of major reference labs and into smaller local labs, which want to save money by doing the testing in-house.

Such customers will have a growing list of products from which to chose. At AACC, AB Sciex displayed its Triple Quad 5500 System and announced two partnerships. The company has partnered with the University of Rhode Island’s College of Pharmacy to develop a saliva-based test to monitor immunosuppressant drugs. AB Sciex also announced that it will work with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which uses the QTRAP 5500 System to develop a reference method for hormone testing in clinical labs as part of its Hormone Standardization Project. AB Sciex does not currently sell kits for clinical research applications, but partners with chemistry companies that develop kits.

Waters also exhibited at AACC, displaying multiple LC/MS systems at its booth. Waters sells the only FDA-approved MS kit for clinical research, the MassTrak Tacrolimus Kit, for patients with kidney and liver transplants. Most recently, the company released the MassTrak Immunosuppressants XE Research Kit, which is currently for research use only, but is awaiting FDA approval.

Thermo Fisher Scientific displayed an LC/MS workflow, as well as sample preparation, diagnostics products and lab equipment at the show. Thermo also launched the Thermo Scientific ClinSpec Immunosuppressants Test kit, its first MS kit for the clinical research market. It is for research use only. In addition, the company previewed the Thermo Scientific Versette automated liquid handler, which will be released in a month. It features 19 interchangeable pipetting heads and the option of two- and six-position stages.

Life Technologies’ Applied Biosystems and Invitrogen businesses shared a booth that displayed both next-generation sequencing and capillary electrophoresis instruments. Introduced last year, the 3500 Genetic Analyzer offers eight- or 24-capillary options for DNA sequencing and fragment analysis. The system is IVD-CE marked in 17 European countries and several Asian nations, including India, but is for research only use in the US. Clinical applications for which the company offers research use only kits include fragment sizing reagents for BRAF and KRAS mutation analysis.

A company whose exhibit demonstrated their presence in both the research and clinical worlds was Luminex. Luminex displayed the new MAGPIX system (see page 9), which is for research use only. The company also highlighted its FDA-approved tests for cystic fibrosis and respiratory viruses for use with the Luminex 100/200 Integrated System, which received FDA 510(k) clearance in 2008.

Other familiar names at the show were Agilent, Bruker and PerkinElmer. Agilent showcased its triple quadrupole MS and microarrays for cytogenetic testing. The company does not offer MS kits for clinical research. Bruker highlighted its MALDI Biotyper MS for microbial identification and X-ray fluorescence technology for metals testing in blood. PerkinElmer showed sample preparation offerings, including automation and reagents. Exhibiting MS sample preparation products were Biotage AB and Phenomenex. AACC 2011 will be held July 24–28 in Atlanta, Georgia.