Professor Develops Microfluidic Device to Better Detect Ebola Virus

A research professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology has developed a prototype micro-device with biosensors to detect the deadly Ebola virus. With this type of device, infected people can be treated earlier and the early detection process can potentially reduce the spread of infections.

Ke Du, a faculty researcher at RIT's Kate Gleason College of Engineering, has developed a microfluidic device that uses CRISPR gene modification technology to monitor and detect nucleic acid markers that indicate the Ebola virus. The virus is highly contagious and the treatment is limited once an individual has been diagnosed, he said. There are several notorious Ebola strains and his research team focused on the EBOV strain, which has a high mortality rate.

"If one person moves from one infected community to another, it can easily spread the epidemic. That's why, before Ebola symptoms, such as cough or fever, occur, people can get a blood test before they can move, "said Du, an badistant professor of mechanical engineering. He leads a multidisciplinary team of engineers and biochemists developing a rapid point-of-care system and a biochemistry network for the diagnosis of pathogens in the field. According to early results, the team found that Ebola RNA in test environments could be detected in five minutes by combining automated sample processing, fluorescence detection and a unique CRISPR-Cas13a baday from a adaptive immune system bacterial.

The microfluidic device is a small automated chip with a very sensitive fluorescence detection unit integrated into the device. Doctors take patient samples and add them to the device where Ebola RNA can be detected by activating the CRISPR mechanism. Du also develops a device capable of detecting several strains of viruses ranging from Ebola to influenza and zika, for example.

Du's research has been published in the April 2019 issue of ACS sensors. The article "Rapid and fully microfluidic detection of Ebola virus with CRISPR-Cas13a" presents an international and multidisciplinary team evaluating the use of CRISPR technology (gene editing technology) to improve the detection of virus. The members of the group come from the University of California at Berkeley; The Tsinghua Berkeley Institute of Shenzhen (China); Dong-A University (Korea); Texas Biomedical Research Institute; and Boston University.

"For this work, we are trying to develop an inexpensive and easy-to-use device, especially for medical personnel working in developing countries or areas affected by an epidemic, who would be able to carry hundreds of these devices to test them., not just one virus or bacteria at a time, but many different types, "he explained.

Researchers have been trying for 40 years to develop an effective vaccine against the Ebola virus. Early detection remains an important strategy for controlling epidemics, the most recent in Congo, where more than 1,000 people have died, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

"If you consider it a flu, and people do not consider it a virus that can kill people every year, some strains may not be as deadly as the Ebola virus, but we know that infectious, whatever their type, are problems that can threaten the public, "Du said. "I grew up in China and I was a victim of the SARS outbreak in 2002-2004." Many people lost their parents and friends to infectious diseases. Early detection systems to screen all types of be very useful because it can provide information to doctors and microbiologists to help them develop vaccines, and early detection and identification can control and even prevent The epidemics. "