Portable Graphene Multiplex Electrochemical Sensor for Rapid Detection of Severe Malaria (G_SensMalaria)

In 2020, malaria caused over 600,000 deaths and affected 241 million patients worldwide, representing a major healthcare and economic burden for many countries. In response to this the World Health Organization has established a malaria eradication program that has in the development of early-diagnostic tests one if its major pillars. In fact current gold standard tests for malaria diagnostics (microscopy and PCR) require fully-equipped laboratory, trained personnel and expensive equipment. In recent years, the use of lateral flow assays have revolutionized malaria diagnostics, allowing for a rapid response even at the point of care. However, they generally have lower sensitivity and specificity of the gold standard techniques, therefore requiring often a confirmatory analysis. Furthermore the vast majority of lateral flow assays detect the HRP2 protein, a malaria biomarker that is being deleted by the parasite in many endemic regions. This is generating a higher number of false negative results that represent a major threat for the patient’s wellbeing.

Project Details

Diagnostics
Product Development

Jul 2022 — Jun 2025

$189,993

Spain