MIT Scientists Develop Paper Test for Diagnosing Ebola, Dengue, and Yellow Fever
MIT scientists develop paper test for diagnosing Ebola, dengue, and yellow fever, addressing the urgent need for quick diagnosis and isolation of highly contagious patients.
Ebola, dengue and yellow fever, all have initial symptoms like fever and headaches and can often be mistaken for flu, making accurate diagnosis difficult. Lee Gehrke and his team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard Medical School have developed a simple and single nanoparticle-based paper test that can detect Ebola, dengue, and yellow fever simultaneously.
Strips of paper containing antibodies are attached to triangular silver nanoparticles of varying size according to the disease they recognize and bind to. The silver nanoparticles appear as different-colored lines on the paper to indicate positive results for Ebola, dengue or yellow fever. The scientists adapted the single marker flow test to diagnose multiple diseases at once.
The team is also working on a mobile app to help with diagnosis and aim to add a date and geographic stamp to test results so healthcare professionals can follow the spread of the disease in real-time. Gehrke’s team is currently testing the device.
Category: News
