ISOLATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF PATHOGENS

1 . A method for analyzing a target, the method comprising

obtaining a sample comprising a target;

introducing a magnetic particle comprising a target-specific binding moiety to the sample, thereby forming a target/magnetic particle complex in the sample;

applying a magnetic field to facilitate isolation of the target from the sample; and

determining an expression profile of a nucleic acid derived from the target.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising

flowing the sample through a channel comprising a second binding moiety attached to a surface of the channel; and

binding the target/magnetic particle complex to the surface of the channel, wherein the step of applying a magnetic field brings the target/magnetic particle complex into proximity of the surface to facilitate binding of the target/magnetic particle complex to the second binding moiety; and

washing away unbound magnetic particles and unbound sample components.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the target comprises a pathogen.

4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the pathogen comprises a bacterium, a virus, or a microorganism that can cause disease.

5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the bacterium is a gram positive bacterium.

6 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the bacterium is a gram negative bacterium.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of determining comprises conducting an assay selected from the group consisting of microarray analysis, sequencing, electrophoresis, RT-PCR, and a combination thereof.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the target-specific binding moiety and the second binding moiety are selected from the group consisting of antibodies, receptors, aptamers, proteins, and ligands.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the sample is selected from the group consisting of blood, sputum, urine, saliva, and sweat.

10 . A method for analyzing a pathogen, the method comprising

obtaining a sample comprising a pathogen;

exposing the sample to a cocktail comprising a plurality of sets of magnetic particles to form pathogen/magnetic particle complexes in the sample, magnetic particles of each set being conjugated to a binding moiety specific to a pathogen; and

applying a magnetic field to capture pathogen/magnetic particles complexes on a surface;

washing away unbound particles and unbound components of the sample with a wash solution that reduces particle aggregation, thereby isolating the pathogen/magnetic particle complexes; and

determining an expression profile of a nucleic acid derived from the pathogen.

11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the surface comprises a plurality of binding moieties, and the step of applying magnetic fields comprises applying alternating magnetic fields to bring the pathogen/magnetic particle complexes into proximity of the surface to facilitate binding of the pathogen/magnetic particle complexes to the plurality of binding moieties.

12 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the plurality of magnetic particles is differently functionalized so that the plurality of magnetic particles binds to a plurality of different pathogens.

13 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the pathogen comprises a bacterium, a virus, or any other microorganism that can cause disease.

14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the bacterium is a gram positive bacterium.

15 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the bacterium is a gram negative bacterium.

16 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the step of determining comprises conducting an assay selected from the group consisting of microarray analysis, sequencing, RT-PCR, and a combination thereof.

17 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the binding moiety specific to the pathogen and the plurality of binding moieties are selected from the group consisting of antibodies, receptors, aptamers, proteins, and ligands.

18 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the sample is selected from the group consisting of blood, sputum, urine, saliva, and sweat.