A Point-of-Care Assay to Detect Antimalarial Drugs from Finger Stick Blood Samples


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The goal of this research is to develop a low-cost, field-based test to detect several slow-clearing ACT drug compounds from unprocessed fingerstick blood samples. The test will detect drugs through the binding of target-specific aptamers or antibodies and provide a colorimetric readout of drug levels. The ability to detect small molecule antimalarial drugs in a patient’s blood at point-of-care would enable healthcare workers to identify a previous treatment failure and adjust the patient’s new treatment to improve its efficacy and thus reduce the spread of resistant parasites. A simple assay to detect these drugs in patient samples would also facilitate real-time mapping of drug usage and compliance.