The following grant has been awarded by the AMR network:

A novel platform for rapid and direct detection of diarrheagenic pathogens.

Existing diagnostics is primarily based on cell culture and microscopy, which takes several days to arrive at a result. Current clinical practice is largely based on empirical prescriptions of antibiotics, which is often inappropriate or broad-spectrum. This has led to the alarming global threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which means existing drugs will soon be ineffective even for common illnesses.

This project aims to develop a rapid diagnostic test platform that can detect the causal pathogens for diarrhoea directly from the sample. A novel acoustic technique will be combined with a polymer based receptor for enhanced robustness for use in tropical resource-limited countries, which see the largest prevalence of infectious diseases. This portable and entirely electronic test platform will potentially allow timely and appropriate first line of treatment and limit AMR.

For more information about the study, please contact Dr Sourav Ghosh, Centre for Biological Engineering, Innovative Manufacturing in Regenerative Medicine, Loughborough University.