Quantitative Bacterial Micro-Assay for Rapid Diagnosis of Galactosemia: Application in Galactosemia Neonatal Screening

In the present study a new economic and rapid bacterial micro-assay for simultaneous detection and quantitative measurement of serum galactose was developed. Analysis of the standard curve showed a linearity range for galactose from 2 mg/dL to 180 mg/dL with a regression equation of Y = 0.013X ? 0.083; R² = 0.962. The advantage of the method is its ability to measure serum galactose quantitatively. The cost per sample is about 20-50 cents, which is much less than HPLC and enzymatic commercial kits. The method can be automated, which is suitable for galactosemia neonatal and mass screening especially in developing countries in which funding is a limiting factor.