RAPTADIAG

Rapid Aptamer based diagnostics for bacterial meningitis

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'The overall objective of this proposal is to develop a fast and cost-effective diagnostic tool for bacterial meningitis, i.e. the detection of Streptococcus pneumoniae and Neisseria meningitidis in cerebrospinal fluid. Kits, consisting of disposable sensing chips and separate detector units, will be developed. The tool shall be low priced and easy to use so that health workers with limited analytical training can employ the kits in the field The tool shall lead to a faster diagnosis, speeding up a targeted antibiotics treatment, thus improving the survival chances of the patient, while facilitating the identification of the infection source and the isolation of individuals, in order to halt the epidemics The main project novelty is the use of aptamer receptors. Aptamers have several advantages over conventional antibodies e.g. significantly lower price, fast development and increased stability. Three sensor technologies will be developed aiming to obtain at least one commercial product by the end of the project. All technologies share the same aptamers and surface activation of the active area. The project success depends on a tight and well-planned collaboration between partners. Partner 1 will develop the S. pneumoniae and N. meningitidis aptamers, and will provide already available micro-organism specific aptamers for parallel sensor development. The near-market technology is evanescent fluorescence, already commercialised by Partner 2. Adaptation of the aptamers and of the Eva-Sensor Chip, will be done and validated in collaboration with Partners 1 & 3. Partner 1 will develop sensors based on microelectromechanical systems and liquid crystals. Either of these–acoustic and volumetric– technologies have, with limited commercial success, been used with molecular targets. Compared hereto targeting micro-organisms generate amplified signals. Partner 3 will design the fluidic chip incorporating the sensor. The resulting system will be commercialised by Partners 2 & 3'

Introduzione (Teaser)

A European consortium is developing novel sensors for the diagnosis of meningitis. By utilising aptamer technology, scientists aim to generate a sensitive yet easy to operate portable device.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

According to the World Health Organisation, bacterial meningitis is among the ten most infectious diseases. It is mainly caused by the bacteria Neisseria meningitides and Streptococcus pneumonia, and has serious and even lethal consequences.

The EU-funded 'Rapid Aptamer based diagnostics for bacterial meningitis' (http://www.raptadiag.eu (RAPTADIAG)) project aims to assist in the rapid diagnosis of bacterial meningitis through a portable device. This device will contain a diagnostic chip and will be suitable for in-hospital use or for remote application where resources are limited.

RAPTADIAG will construct sensors based on aptamer technology for immunoassay recognition of bacterial pathogens. Aptamers are short DNA or RNA molecules that can bind target molecules permitting exploitation of their molecular recognition properties in therapeutic applications. They possess high affinity and specificity for their target and offer a number of advantages compared to antibodies.

Additionally, project partners are developing a microacoustic-resonating biosensor (MRS) and a liquid crystal-based biosensor (LCS) for meningitis diagnosis. MRS includes a high density of aptamers, thereby lowering its detection limit down to a single microorganism. LCS provides a qualitative means of visual inspection enabling simple detection even with a mobile phone camera. Also, LCS has shown outstanding sensitivity results and the consortium is pursuing it further.

From a clinical perspective, the RAPTADIAG-generated sensor tool is expected to fill a huge gap in bacterial meningitis diagnosis. Easy and prompt diagnosis will definitely improve patient outcomes with regard to this potentially lethal infection.