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Novel method explores detection of Ebola in saliva
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A new method for detecting Ebola virus in saliva instead of blood by using a novel nanoparticle technology is under development, according to a press release.
Ceres Nanosciences is working with George Mason University and the US Army Medical Research Institutes of Infectious Diseases to adapt its Nanotrap technology to detect Ebola. The technology is capable of processing biofluid samples for diagnostic purposes and sample handling applications, the release said. The $430,000 project is funded by the Gates Foundation.
“The potential increased sensitivity afforded by Nanotrap sample processing in saliva could enable safer, earlier and more accurate detection and response during an outbreak,” Ross Dunlap, CEO of Ceres, said in the release.
Nanotrap technology was designed at George Mason University and funded by the NIH. It is being manufactured by Ceres with support from the NIH, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Department of Homeland Security and the state of Virginia.
“The effective detection of Ebola using a noninvasive sample collection method, such as saliva, coupled with a highly sensitive diagnostic test … presents a very compelling solution for rapid identification of infected individuals at an earlier stage of infection,” Emanuel Petricoin, co-director of the Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine at George Mason and co-founder of Ceres, said in the release.
As of Dec. 3, there have been 6,070 Ebola-related deaths and 17,145 cases of the virus, according to WHO.