Microneedle绷带检测到RAGPIDLY的疟疾

Testing for疟疾could become as simple as putting on a bandage. That’s the idea behind a platform developed by Rice University engineers who introduced a microneedle patch for rapid diagnostic testing that does not require extracting blood. Thedevice绘制蛋白质生物标志物含有真皮间质液，人们通常认为是水疱内的液体，但环绕皮肤中的所有细胞。

该液体含有多种生物标志物，用于各种疾病，例如疟疾，可用于快速测试。可以编程一次性斑块以检测其他疾病，可能包括COVID-19, said mechanical engineer Peter Lillehoj of Rice’s Brown School of Engineering. “In this paper, we focus on malaria detection because this project was funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and it’s a big priority for them,” said Lillehoj, who joined Rice in January as an associate professor of mechanical engineering. “But we can adapt this technology to detect other diseases for which biomarkers appear in interstitial fluid.”

The self-contained test developed by Lillehoj and lead author Xue Jiang, a Rice postdoctoral researcher, delivers a result in about 20 minutes and does not require medical expertise or any equipment.

粘性贴片有16个空心微针in a 4-by-4 array on one side, coupled with an antibody-based lateral-flow test strip on the other. The antibodies react when they sense protein biomarkers for malaria and turn two readout lines on the strip’s exposed surface red. If the test is negative, only one line turns red.

将针被处理为亲水性 - 即吸附水 - 所以流体被吸入并流过测试条。测试完成后，可以像任何绷带一样拆除设备。

虽然微针和抗体测试条被广泛研究，Lillehoj说，他的实验室是第一个将它们结合成一个简单，廉价的包装，尤其是在需要的发展区域，特别是在手指刺穿血液采样的区域训练有素的医务人员诊断样品的可用性可能是挑战性的。

The hollow needles are 375 microns wide and 750 microns long, enough to reach the fluid within skin that is typically between 800 to 1,000 microns thick. The needles are sharp enough to overcome the mechanical stress of entering the skin. “Xue and I have applied the patch to our skin, and it doesn’t feel painful at all compared to a finger prick or a blood draw,” Lillehoj said. “It’s less painful than getting a splinter. I would say it feels like putting tape on your skin and then peeling it off.”

They think the familiar form factor may provide some comfort, especially to children. “We didn’t intend for it to look like a bandage,” he said. “We started with a rectangular shape and then just rounded the edges to make it a little more presentable. We didn’t plan for that, but perhaps it makes the patch more relatable to the general public.”

He estimated individual patches could cost about $1 if and when they are produced in bulk.

The research was published in the Nature journal微系统和纳米工程.