Project Lead(s): Alexandre Brolo
The project aims to develop a new technology to help heath workers to screen for Zika in field conditions. The technology is a plastic strip coated with metallic nanoparticles and proteins that bind to Zika antibodies in a patient’s saliva, thus changing the strip’s color. The color change is subtle but it can be detected using a simple spectrometer coupled to a cellular phone.
An app will also be developed to store the results and other information. The type of fever and the location of the affected individual will be uploaded in real-time, allowing fast mapping of the outbreak. At its current stage, the project is focused on developing the strip and performing a small scale pilot test with the saliva of Zika patients in Brazil.