Difference between revisions of "Team:Munich/Testing"

With the goal of finally being able to quickly distinguish between viral and bacterial infection, a great problem leading to multi-resistant pathogens, we developed CascAID (Cas13a Controlled Assay for Infectious Diseases). Combining this high sensitive CRISPR effector with clever designed paper-based microfluidic device, we created a cheap and easy-to-use diagnostic tool. We are hoping that in the near future we will be able to further optimize and customize our design so that it can be regularly used not only in developing countries, but also in developed ones to speed up the diagnosis process, and some day even in households as a first aid essential.

Step 1: Take saliva sample from the patient since here both pathogens of interest, bacteria and virus can occur. Step 2: Extract RNA using our carefully designed, reusable, 3D-printed microfluidic device. Step 3: Let the Cas13a, which was previously freeze-dried on disposable paper-strip as part of our device, do its magic and detect the single-stranded RNA of interest. Step 4: If the pathogen RNA was detected in the sample, Cas13a will change into a RNAse-active conformation. It will degrade our read-out RNA, leading to a visible signal. Step 5: A colorful, easy to interpret read-out will now tell you whether the specific pathogen was present in the sample.