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Paper-based test screens for Ebola, dengue, yellow fever in minutes
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A novel, paper-based diagnostic test may be able to determine whether a patient has Ebola, dengue or yellow fever in minutes and without electricity, according to data recently presented at the National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society.
“These tests have a lot of advantages in that they are very cheap and are very easy to use. But, they only test for one thing at a time,” Kimberly Hamad-Schifferli, PhD, of the Massachusetts Institutes of Technology, said during a press conference. “We wanted to make a rapid diagnostic that could tell you what disease you had but also test for multiple ones at the same time.”
Kimberly Hamad-Schifferli
Physicians currently diagnose these diseases using PCR and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), according to a press release. The paper-based test is not as accurate as these diagnostics, but the test will be more widely available because ELISA and PCR require personal expertise and costly materials in order to work.
“Typically people perform PCR and ELISA, which are highly accurate, but they need a controlled lab environment,” Hamad-Schifferli said in the release. “These are not meant to replace PCR and ELISA because we can’t match their accuracy. This is a complementary technique for places with no running water or electricity.”
The point-of-care test uses multicolored, prism-shaped silver nanoparticles to detect multiple infections, according to the researchers. When virus proteins from a patient’s blood sample are captured, the result is triggered on the strip as red for Ebola, green for dengue or orange for yellow fever.
“We purposely designed it to be very simple not only to assemble but also to use and to read out,” Hamad-Schifferli said in a video accompanying the release. “This test costs $20 when we make it in a lab, but we are hoping it can be even cheaper.”
The test tells doctors the prevalence of each disease, according to the video, and could potentially detect any disease given the right antibody. The time and location of each test can be read by a cellphone and uploaded to the Internet to also generate a map of the outbreak.
“Cellphone technology is widely available right now. This will help with creating maps so we can understand where a disease is spreading and where epidemics are and how the outbreak is evolving,” Hamad-Schifferli said. “We always have an eye to what the new emerging infectious diseases are so that is an area of future work.”
The assay requires no external excitation source and permits multiplexed analysis in a single channel to greater facilitate integration and manufacturing, the researchers wrote. Additionally, the researchers plan to distribute the parts to these tests for no cost so that anyone can make the device, according to the press release. – by Will Offit
Reference:
Hamad-Schifferli K, et al. Abstract 402. Presented at: 250th National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society; Aug. 16-20, 2015; Boston.
Disclosure: Infectious Disease News was unable to determine relevant financial disclosures at the time of publication.