Malaria elimination
Malaria is a common and life-threatening disease caused by several Plasmodium species of parasites that are introduced into the bloodstream via mosquito bites. To achieve the eradication of the disease, effective diagnostics are urgently needed. For instance, effective testing of entire endemic areas would ensure that infected people are treated even though they do not have any symptoms. This way, the parasites’ reservoir would be eliminated, thus, preventing any further re-infection upon mosquito bites and therefore stopping the dissemination of the disease. There are currently 35 countries actively trying to eliminate malaria of their territories. Diagnostic is one of the key to achieve this goal however it needs to meet the following criteria:
Sensitivity
Able to detect asymptomatic carrier with submicroscopic infections.
Low-cost
Affordable mass screening.
Robustness
Resistance to harsh conditions of temperature and humidity.
PORTABILITY
Transportation to remote location for field testing.
Our technology
We have developed a patented assay with the potential to serve as mass diagnostic tool for malaria eradication campaigns. Based on the amplification of a pan-malarial biomarker, it showed a sensitivity comparable to the most sophisticated method in use to diagnose malaria, while being inexpensive and based on stable chemicals.
OUR TEAM
This project originated from the Macromolecular Chemistry group of Prof. Nico Bruns in the Adolphe Merkle Institute (AMI) of the University of Fribourg. AMI fosters collaboration in interdisciplinary research for basic and applied science. The team managed to secure grants from the Bridge - proof of concept and the Gebert Rüf foundation to turn the laboratory based diagnostic assay into a point-of-care diagnostic device.
Dr. Jonas Pollard
Head of project
Co-inventor of the assay. He secured the Bridge – Proof of concept grant to turn the laboratory based assay into a portable device
Lan Le Diem Tran
Business developer
Engage with partner and customers
samuel raccio
PhD student
Optimization of the assay
Dr. jean-Luc Robyr
Engineer
Design and build device and software
