Origami paper sensors could help early detection of infectious diseases in recent easy, low-cost test

Wastewater a key approach to track infections

Testing wastewater is one among the first ways to evaluate the prevalence of infectious diseases in populations. Researchers take samples from various water treatment plants across the country and use the outcomes to grasp which areas currently have the best infection rates. The tactic was utilized in the COVID-19 pandemic to trace community infection rates and direct public health measures.

Zhugen Yang, Professor of Biosensing and Environmental Health at Cranfield University, led the event of the sentinel sensors. It builds on research he conducted in 2020 to develop a test to detect SARS-CoV-2 (commonly often called COVID-19), Influenza A and Influenza B in wastewater using a paper-based platform and UV torch or cell phone camera.

Until now, essentially the most accurate ways of testing wastewater samples have been methods just like the polymerase chain response (PCR) test which should be conducted in centralised laboratories by well-trained personnel. Which means samples are collected, stored and transported in a chilly chain to the lab location before being processed, which may take multiple days and is relatively expensive.

‘Origami’ folded paper-based test is read by cell phone

The brand new test method is rapid, user-friendly and portable. Wastewater samples are placed onto a wax-printed paper sheet which is folded in an ‘origami’ style. The paper incorporates chemicals that react to certain disease markers, triggering a fluorescent color to emerge. Using a cell phone camera, the outcomes may be read and data collected rapidly

Professor Yang developed the brand new method as a part of the national COVID-19 wastewater surveillance programme. In 2021, at the peak of the pandemic, he performed field tests using the test at 4 quarantine hotels around Heathrow Airport. The entire sample-to-answer process took under 90mins in comparison with around 4 hours for a PCR test, with the tests conducted within the basement of one among the hotels using minimal equipment. Results showed that this recent device gives results no less than as accurate because the PCR test but at a much lower cost and might provide an early warning of disease in the neighborhood. The device is especially useful for areas with limited resource due to its ease of use, low price and fast results.

Professor Yang commented: “During COVID-19 we proved that fast community sewage evaluation is a very effective approach to track infectious diseases and help manage public health. The straightforward test we’ve got developed costs just £1 and uses the commonly available camera function in a cell phone, making it readily accessible. This may very well be an actual game-changer with regards to predicting disease rates and improving public health within the face of future pandemics.”

The device has been featured on the London Science Museum recognising its contribution to the National Wastewater Surveillance Programme throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Further development of the test is being sponsored by the Leverhulme Trust Research Leadership Scheme and a grant from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. In future, it could potentially be used to trace recent variants and help to ascertain whether the variant remains to be spreading in the neighborhood, in addition to monitoring antimicrobial resistance from one health perspective.

“Paper microfluidic sentinel sensor enables rapid and on-site wastewater surveillance in community settings” is published within the journal Cell Reports Physical Science, and in addition involved scientists from the University of Glasgow and Zhejiang University in China.