Researchers at the National Institute of Industrial Technology (INTI) have designed a portable device that rapidly detects infectious diseases to facilitate diagnosis in isolated or poor populations.
“It’s very different taking a blood test somewhere in Santiago de Estero and sending it to a center in Buenos Aires or Córdoba to being able to come to a diagnosis at that time and place,” said the Doctor of Chemistry Carlos Moina, the project’s director.
According to the specialist, the idea is to place the device in the most isolated care centers to carry out the test and detect, in just ten minutes, any active diseases and those that might strike in the future.
The diagnosis platform is based around the formation of a complex antigen-antibody and the generation of an electric signal that provides a warning if the disease is present.
“If a person is infected with Chagas, for example, their body generates antibodies against it: then the antigen, which is a protein that joins with the specific antibody to detect the disease, forms a complex that is needed for the device to detect it and provide a warning with an electric signal,” Moina explained.
For it to be used in hospitals and primary care centers, the Nanopoc device is portable, easy to use and low cost – about a thousand dollars. In addition, it can be checked and charged with a USB cable or mains circuit and it was announced that the possibility of charging it with solar cells would be investigated so it can be used in areas not connected to the electrical grid.
Moina said that the goal is to decentralize the detection of diseases and said: “As the device will be very accessible in terms of price and use for testing, the idea is for it to be used in regional hospitals.”
The technology, which can be used for both humans and animals, will make it possible to test for brucellosis, Chagas disease, Hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS) and foot and mouth disease.
The prototype was the result of interdisciplinary work at the Biotechnological Research Institute at the National University of San Martin and three companies. It is currently in the certification stages, being tested on over three hundred thousand serums by two regulatory bodies: the National Administration of Food, Medications and Medical Technology (ANMAT) and the National Service of Agro-Food Health and Quality (SENASA). It is estimated that distribution and effective use will begin in the next few months.
The Ministry of Productive Science, Technology and Innovation of the Republic of Argentina financed the development of the nanosensors and bionanotechnology for in-situ diagnosis, also known as “point of care” (POC) with a subsidy of $13,045,155 pesos.
Source: Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación Productiva
