Antibody microarray typing, a novel technique for Streptococcus pneumoniae serotyping.

The use of antibody-based miniaturized devices for microbiological applications is a field poorly investigated in the era of more developed molecular amplification techniques. A novel antibody microarray for Streptococcus pneumoniae serotyping was developed, by printing nanolitre volumes of pneumococcal serotype-specific antibodies on multi-well slides. This microarray, which showed high specificity when tested against reference and clinical S. pneumoniae isolates, can be applicable as a faster, cost-effective and accurate serotyping technique for pneumococcal epidemiological studies.