Abstract: This invention discloses a pretreatment approach for blood and bodily fluids to remove unwanted protein interferences in the measurement of analytes. Enzymes either contained in a cartridge or immobilized on a solid support break down proteins that complex with the analyte to shield it from detection. This pretreatment significantly enhances the detectability of analytes and does not require subsequent clean-up steps that would normally be required to ensure the functionality of the analysis method, thereby, creating a simple yet powerful approach for sample pretreatment in a variety of settings ranging from a complex laboratory infrastructure to a field deployable application.

Abstract: A method for detecting lipoarabinomannan in a biological sample is described, including the step of contacting the biological sample with at least one acid selected from the group consisting of perchloric acid, trifluoroacetic acid, and sulfosalicylic acid. Methods for diagnosing diseases, including tuberculosis, and kits for the described methods are also presented.