Rapid Micro Methods Blog

A Fast Method for Measuring How Well Air Disinfection Works: See How it Glows

2026-04-06T08:58:00.001-04:00

Image created by Dr. Michael J. Miller

The effectiveness of air disinfection devices may now be measured in minutes, rather than hours, with a new technique from University of Michigan Engineering. This is important for researchers developing better antiviral air purifiers, helping to mitigate outbreaks of viral respiratory diseases and prepare for the next pandemic.

The new method harnesses a property known as UV fluorescence, or how molecules absorb UV light, followed shortly thereafter by emission of energy at another wavelength. It turns out viral aerosols shine brighter before disinfection treatment than after. This finding offers the potential to indirectly but rapidly track the performance of air disinfection technologies and more.

“Our findings suggest that it may be possible to detect changes in aerosol infectivity in a rapid, real-time manner without tedious laboratory procedures,” said Zhenyu Ma, a U-M postdoctoral research fellow, and first author of the study in Plasma Chemistry and Plasma Processing. “As the field of application for this technology becomes clearer, we could use it to better understand the behavior of pathogenic aerosols and their infectivity, thereby providing essential information for public health guidelines.”

The speed of the new approach, developed in the lab of Herek Clack, a U-M associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, is key. The standard method of evaluating an air disinfection process requires collecting pathogen samples from air before and after treatment. For viruses, it involves exposing host cells to the pathogen sample so that the viruses have something to infect. Then, technicians look for signs of infection through a microscope, a labor-intensive process that yields just a single measurement of air disinfection performance.

In contrast, U-M’s approach yields results after several minutes of sampling a small portion of the air stream entering, and then exiting, an air disinfection device or chamber. The sampled air streams flow separately into a device that measures the size of each particle, exposes it to UV light and measures the intensity of its glow. With thousands of these measurements taken over a couple of minutes of sampling, naturally occurring particle-to-particle variations cause the fluorescence intensity measurements to take the shape of a bell curve.

This bell curve shifts to lower intensities as the fraction of viral aerosols inactivated by the disinfection process increases. As a result, researchers can measure the fluorescence intensity of the air sample before and after the disinfection process and compare them to figure out how well disinfection worked.

Once the expected shift in the bell curve is known for a particular pathogen, between treated and untreated viruses, the effectiveness determination takes just a few minutes. For researchers like Clack, who develop disinfection processes, this means faster prototyping and testing at different air flow rates, air temperatures, humidity levels and more.

“Even as the paradigm has shifted regarding the significance of airborne disease transmission, air disinfection technologies that do not rely on filtering air suffer slow development cycles because of how tedious it traditionally has been to prove how well the pathogens have been inactivated. Having an indirect indicator, properly calibrated, for pathogen infectivity could speed up that development process tremendously,” said Clack.

Fluorescence monitoring could also be effective for disinfection tools such as ozone and chlorine, the researchers suggest. But for techniques that disrupt the virus’ genome, such as ultraviolet light, fluorescence will not work. The genome is too deep inside the virus to be reached by these fluorescence detection methods, so their fluorescence signatures don’t change in the same way.

Clack’s group studies interactions between aerosols and strong electric fields. These fields produce non-thermal plasmas, or regions containing charged molecular fragments, which damage viruses and render them harmless. Their group has demonstrated that non-thermal plasmas are capable of reducing the number of infectious viruses in flowing air by 99.9% in lab testing as well as at enclosed livestock operations. Clack’s startup, Taza Aya, has prototyped plasma-based respiratory protective gear, currently being tested in a Michigan turkey processing plant.

Reference

Ma, Z., Clack, H.L. Using Viral Aerosol Fluorescence for Detection of Virus Infectivity Change Induced by Non-thermal Plasma. Plasma Chem Plasma Process 46, 27 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11090-026-10648-6

Abstract

Airborne transmission of infectious diseases poses a great threat to public health and the global economy, prompting increased interest in the detection and mitigation of infectious airborne pathogens. Development of air disinfection technologies – those that rely on pathogen neutralization or inactivation rather than particle filtration, such as non-thermal plasma (NTP) – can require extensive tests to determine how the degree of disinfection is affected by operational settings, environmental conditions, aerosol composition, pathogen type, among other factors. Such parametric evaluation is made much more tedious by the need to physically extract pre- and post-treatment aerosol samples for comparative microbiological assays in order to measure change in pathogen viability and the efficacy of the neutralization/inactivation process. UV aerosol fluorescence has been used to detect and characterize aerosols of biological origin, such as pollen. In this study, UV fluorescence of MS2 bacteriophage aerosol is studied for its potential to serve as an indicator of changing viral aerosol infectivity, one that can provide a quicker indication of a change in viral aerosol infectivity than conventional bioaerosol collection followed by microbiological assay. In the present study, infectivity assays and fluorescence measurements of viral aerosols are taken before and after non-thermal plasma treatment. Results indicate that NTP treatment induces infectivity loss and diminished fluorescence intensity. Diminished fluorescence intensity and reduced infectivity are positively correlated, both becoming more pronounced with increased intensity of non-thermal plasma treatment. These findings suggest UV aerosol fluorescence could serve as a fast indicator of airborne virus infectivity change during test, evaluation, and optimization of air disinfection processes like NTP.

Smartphone Rapid Test Detects Microbiologically Contaminated Water in Less Than a Minute

2026-04-06T08:44:00.001-04:00

Image created by Dr. Michael J. Miller

Microbiologically contaminated water poses a significant health risk worldwide - especially in areas where laboratories are scarce and rapid testing is crucial. Researchers at the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) have now developed a portable rapid test capable of detecting the molecule urobilin at extremely low concentrations. Urobilin is produced in the body during the breakdown of hemoglobin, is excreted, and serves as a natural indicator that traces of human or animal excrement are present in the water. The new test delivers a reliable result in under a minute, greatly simplifying rapid on-site assessment of water quality.

Worldwide, billions of people rely on water sources whose hygienic quality is unclear or difficult to monitor. Conventional microbiological analysis methods take up to 24 hours, are costly, and require specialized laboratories for evaluation. These delays complicate the provision of safe drinking water, decision-making during flood events, or in regions with insufficient laboratory infrastructure. This is precisely where the new BAM rapid test offers a solution.

The research team has developed a highly sensitive detection method that makes the indicator molecule urobilin - a metabolic byproduct excreted by all mammals - visible within seconds. The method uses a special test strip that lights up upon contact with microbiologically contaminated water.

What makes it special: The test can be used directly with a smartphone. A small LED lamp in a 3D-printed attachment of the test kit is powered by the phone, and the smartphone camera measures the test strip’s luminescence. No additional laboratory equipment or chemicals are required.

This enables an exceptionally simple “drop-and-detect” principle: a single drop of water is sufficient to perform a reliable analysis. In comparative measurements, the test demonstrates high stability and accuracy. Even very small amounts of the indicator molecule can be identified - significantly faster and more easily than with conventional analytical methods.

“The system also performed well in practical testing: The rapid test was successfully validated using real water samples from rivers as well as at the inflow and outflow of a Berlin wastewater treatment plant,” explains Swayam Prakash, who developed the rapid test as a Marie Curie Fellow at BAM together with Knut Rurack, an expert in chemical and optical sensing.“ Even under complex environmental conditions with natural interfering substances, urobilin was reliably detected.”

By eliminating the need for additional work steps or laboratory equipment, the method is particularly suitable for field operations, developing regions, crisis areas, and mobile monitoring programs. With its combination of speed, sensitivity, and user-friendliness, the new BAM rapid test meets key requirements of modern water quality diagnostics and contributes to improving essential services worldwide.

At the same time, the technology demonstrates how powerful future solutions in water monitoring can be: Since the test can be evaluated digitally and the system is robust and ready for immediate use, it can be applied in many areas where compact and reliable technology is particularly important. The demonstrated innovation potential provides a strong foundation for further developments that are likely to be of particular interest to companies in environmental analytics, mobile diagnostics, and smart monitoring systems.

Reference

Swayam Prakash et al, Rapid Onsite Detection of Fecal Contamination in Water Using a Portable Fluorometric Assay, ACS Sensors (2026). DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.5c03922.

Abstract

Fecal pollution in water poses significant health risks, especially when contaminated sources are used for drinking and food production. Traditional water quality testing methods are expensive, slow, and require skilled personnel, limiting their accessibility. This work addresses these issues by developing a portable fluorometric assay for the detection of the fecal indicator pigment urobilin (UB). The assay uses silane-functionalized glass fiber strips impregnated with zinc chloride, providing a ‘drop-&-detect’ approach with enhanced fluorescence response mediated by the unique complexation properties of ZnCl2 and UB. This approach allows for the detection of UB at sub-nanomolar concentrations in less than 1 min using a 3D-printed setup with miniaturized optical components powered by a smartphone with its camera as a detector. The results validated with a benchtop fluorometer show the effectiveness of this method. The successful application of this user-friendly, rapid, and sensitive assay to real water samples from three rivers and the influx and efflux of a wastewater treatment plant advances field-based water quality monitoring, meets the WHO’s ASSURED criteria, and supports progress toward the global clean water and sanitation goals.

UK Scientists Develop Rapid Antibiotic Susceptibility Test for UTIs

2026-04-06T08:35:00.002-04:00

Image created by Dr. Michael J. Miller

A new test developed by scientists in the United Kingdom could provide urinary tract infection (UTI) patients with quicker antibiotic treatment, according to a study published in JAC-Antimicrobial Resistance.

The rapid microcapillary direct-from-urine antibiotic susceptibility test (RMD AST), developed by researchers at the University of Reading and the University of Southampton, uses “dip and test” technology to provide antibiotic susceptibility results directly from urine samples in just under six hours. The device contains thin tubes that are loaded with different antibiotics and dipped directly into urine samples. Optical imaging detects whether the bacterial growth in the urine continues or is halted.

The standard process for testing antibiotic susceptibility from urine samples involves growing bacteria from the samples in cultures and then exposing the bacteria to antibiotics, a process that takes two to three days to produce results. That means UTI patients are typically treated with empiric antibiotics before the clinicians knows whether the bacteria are resistant to the selected antibiotic.

“By the time the laboratory delivers the result under current methods, a patient may already have finished their antibiotics, or been given ones that do not work,” study co-author Oliver Hancox, PhD, of the University of Reading’s School of Pharmacy, said in a university press release. Hancox is also CEO of Astratus Limited, a company established by the team that developed the test.

Getting the right treatment sooner

To evaluate the accuracy of the test, the researchers used 352 diagnostic remnant urine samples from the Hampshire Hospitals National Health Service (NHS) Foundation Trust one to five days after they arrived at the hospital’s microbiologic lab. They tested for resistance to seven antibiotics used as first-line treatments for UTIs and compared the RMD AST results to those from the standard method, which was used as a reference point.

The RMD AST results agreed with the reference method in 96.5% of urine samples containing a single organism (either Escherichia coli or Staphylococcus aureus). Susceptibility results came back in two to 10 hours, with a mean time of 5.85 hours.

But the researchers were concerned that boric acid, which inhibits bacterial growth and is typically added to urine samples to stabilize them for microbiologic testing, might interfere with the results. This was the first study of a direct-from-urine AST test to examine the impact of the compound, they noted.

To do so, they collected 90 fresh urine samples and split them into two duplicate samples, with boric acid added to one set. They found RMD AST results in the split samples agreed with the reference method in 98.8% of cases.

“There was no indication that the presence of boric acid led to false negatives for growth detection that would indicate interference with growth detection by the bacteriostatic agent,” the study authors wrote.

Important results for often-resistant infections

Although the researchers say more evaluation of RMD AST at other hospitals with different antibiotic-resistance profiles is needed, the test could improve initial antibiotic treatment of UTIs, which have become increasingly resistant to first-line antibiotics. The latest report from the World Health Organization’s Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System, published in October, found that one in three UTIs globally were resistant to first-line antibiotics.

Resistant UTIs can lead to treatment failure and more severe outcomes. Data from the NHS show that more than 800,000 people were admitted to UK hospitals because of a UTI from 2018 to 2023.

“Being able to tell a doctor the same day which antibiotic to use means the patient gets the right treatment sooner, reducing the risk of resistance developing and their infection turning into potentially lethal sepsis,” Hancox said.

The study was funded by the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Research.

EDQM Announces New Milestone in the Development of the Certification Concept for Rapid Microbiological Methods

2026-03-31T09:04:00.001-04:00

Image created by Dr. Michael J. Miller

At its 184th Session in March 2026, the European Pharmacopoeia Commission (EPC) approved the creation of a new working party dedicated to the technical development of the certified review of microbiological methods per the European Pharmacopoeia, a novel concept that will also be known as “cMEP”.

The cMEP is based on a method‑centric approach intended to facilitate the use of rapid microbiological methods (RMMs) by providing a harmonised scientific review of their validation and comparability, in accordance with the European Pharmacopoeia.

Developed under the aegis of the EPC, the cMEP arose from recent EDQM work on the implementation and assessment of RMMs. This work included two major stakeholder consultations (April and October 2024), which confirmed strong and broad support for the development of such a certification approach.

The newly created cMEP Working Party will contribute to the technical development of the concept, including the refinement of its scope and scientific requirements.

The Terms of Reference for the Working Party are as follows:

cMEP Working Party (certified review of microbiological methods per the European Pharmacopoeia)

Terms of reference

Support the refinement of the scheme, including:

Paper exercise based on the feedback gathered during the opportunity study and the early technical taskforce
Refinement of the scope and drafting of the certified review concept for alternative microbiological methods, covering validation and comparability to Ph. Eur. reference methods (and excluding product-specific validation and comparability)
Draft proposal of the technical and operational framework, including guidance for applicants, templates of data package needed for the review, and the system way-of-working

Execute a proof‑of‑concept exercise (preferably on a well-known alternative analytical method and an equipment already used for an approved product) in order to test the proposed concept, identify scientific and practical bottlenecks and propose remedies ahead of a pilot phase.
Consultation with relevant Ph. Eur. groups (e.g. Group 1, CTP, GTP) and with stakeholders (e.g. via targeted hearings/workshops) when required

Profile for experts

Current expertise in microbiological analytical methods and/or analytical validation relevant to the development, implementation or assessment of alternative microbiological methods
Several years of recent experience in one or more of the following fields:

Development, implementation (incl. validation and comparability) of alternative microbiological methods in industry or contract laboratories (method implementation, change control, batch release, troubleshooting)
Practical microbiological QC experience in manufacturing or independent testing laboratories (diverse matrices, large organism panels)
Assessment of validation and comparability packages for relevant quality dossiers and familiarity with rapid methods, sterility, bioburden, in a competent authority or OMCL
Consultancy with substantial experience in the implementation or filing of alternative 46 microbiological methods
Development and maintenance of alternative microbiological equipment (principle, hardware, software/algorithms, versioning, primary validation, comparability, data collection, awareness of method limitations and challenges, understanding of user needs)

Knowledge of Ph. Eur. chapter 5.1.6 (and/or 2.6.27) as well as other relevant texts (incl. 2.6.1, 2.6.12, 2.6.13, 2.6.7, 2.6.21)
Ability to contribute constructively to the project, including participation in consensus drafting and review of working documents

Profile for ad hoc specialists

Statistician specialised in microbiological validation and comparability
ATMP / short shelf-life product specialist with knowledge of rapid sterility and time-critical constraints, low-volume sampling, and matrix effects specific to cell-based/short-shelf-life products, experience with tests with long analytical time (e.g. sterility, mycoplasma) and their alternatives methods
Regulator experienced in the assessment of the alternative microbiological methods parts of applications for marketing authorisation in a competent authority or OMCL
Technology/method specialist (e.g. equipment supplier) with full knowledge of method principle/hardware/software, method limitations and challenges

Spore.Bio Launches "Louis," its AI-Driven, Transformer-Multimodal Spectral Imaging System for Microorganism Detection, Enumeration and Identification

2026-03-30T15:15:00.001-04:00

At PDA's Annual Meeting in the United States, and at ECA's Annual Pharma Congress in Germany, Spore.Bio officially launched TMSI, the world's first reagent-free, culture-free microbiology platform capable of detecting, quantifying, and identifying living microorganisms in under 10 minutes.

The launch was coupled with the publication of a scientific white paper describing initial validation data for bioburden testing, including Accuracy, Limit of Quantitation and Linearity, using the statistical analysis recommendations expected to be published in the upcoming revision to PDA Technical report #33.. Additionally, the studies investigated how the Louis System differentiates live cells from dead cells, how the system can be used for microbial identification and a multiplexing platform for reporting both total aerobic microbial count and total yeast and mold counts in non sterile pharmaceutical dosage forms. The white papers were published in American Pharmaceutical Review and European Pharmaceutical Review.

The Spore.Bio Louis System employs a transformer-based multimodal spectral imaging (TMSI) approach, integrating biophotonic hardware with artificial intelligence (AI)-based, deep machine learning models for microorganism detection. The technology collects viable organism signals in the visible, UV and near-infrared wavelengths. These signals are gathered as unique spectral fingerprints of the organisms at the single-cell level, which are fed into the models that were trained on thousands of real-world samples, representing millions of images. The end result is a rapid technology that operates without growth enrichment or labelling requirements, demonstrates compatibility across diverse sample matrices and enables simultaneous detection, quantitation and species-level identification within a unified analytical platform.

The TMSI technology combines spectroscopic and spatial information to achieve single-cell resolution (400nm). The multispectral approach captures signals across six wavelengths under dual illumination at 405nm and 365nm, enabling the collection of both absorption data and intrinsic fluorescence from metabolic molecules such as NADH, flavins and porphyrin.

The combination of these molecular signatures, coupled with their spatial localisation within cells (eg, a signal stronger at the centre versus a diffuse signal within the cell), morphological aspect (eg, thickness of the membrane and shape of the organism) and their cumulative and relative fluorescence excitation intensities, generates a unique spectral signature that enables differentiation of microorganisms from inert particles or sample matrix components, alongside microbial identification at the species level.

The company's future deliverables include performing a comprehensive primary validation and the assessment of a broader selection of strains, including Viable But Non-Culturable (VBNC) and stressed cells. Additionally, comparability will be demonstrated for bioburden and sterility testing across multiple pharmaceutical dosage forms, including filtrable and non-filtrable substances, such as powders, vaccines, small and large molecules.

New Scattered Light Method Enables Faster Analysis of Bacteria and Antibiotic Resistance

2026-03-30T14:48:00.001-04:00

Image created by Dr. Michael J. Miller

Time is a critical factor in treating bacterial infections. While pathogens multiply rapidly, their identification in conventional diagnostics often takes several hours or even days. This is particularly problematic with antibiotic-resistant pathogens.

Using a photonics-based measurement method, Dr. Anne-Sophie Munser has developed a procedure that can significantly accelerate this process in the future.

For her dissertation, the researcher from the "Functional Surfaces and Coatings" department at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF adapted a method from optical metrology for use in cell biology.

Detecting individual cells in fractions of a second

Her method utilizes what is known as angle-resolved light scattering analysis. This is a method traditionally used to visualize the finest defects or particles on exceptionally smooth surfaces, such as mirrors or lenses. Anne-Sophie Munser leveraged this high sensitivity to detect individual microorganisms rather than nanostructures.

The result is a method that can detect even a few cells of harmful bacteria without the need for prior time-consuming cultivation. Conventional methods usually require large quantities of cells and, consequently, time: "Instead of waiting for colonies of thousands of cells, microfluidic sample handling allows us to analyze microbiological processes as early as the first two to three cell divisions," explains the researcher. With the new technology, individual cells can be detected in fractions of a second. Bacteria and their potential resistances can thus be identified within about three hours.

Analyzing bacterial properties down to the nanometer scale

For detection, a laser beam is directed at individual cells. Depending on their structure, surface properties, and shape, the cells scatter the light in different directions. This creates a characteristic light distribution from which conclusions can be drawn about cell type, surface roughness, aggregation behavior, and other structural properties down to the nanometer scale. "You could say that every cell leaves behind a kind of optical fingerprint through the scattering of light. We use this to analyze microorganisms quickly and precisely," explains the researcher.

In her doctoral thesis, Dr. Anne-Sophie Munser was able to demonstrate that light scattering technology can also be used to determine the effectiveness of antibiotics against various bacteria within just a few hours. This is a clear advantage for faster, targeted treatment. For this work, she was awarded third place in the prestigious Hugo Geiger Prize at the Fraunhofer Symposium "Netzwert" on March 18. Anne-Sophie Munser had already received the Dr.-Ing. Siegfried Werth Prize for her research in 2024.

Further Development into a Lab-on-a-Chip System

In addition, the researcher developed her own data analysis methods to better interpret the novel light scattering patterns for biological applications. Her team is currently working in interdisciplinary cooperation to further simplify this analysis with artificial intelligence. The system is also being refined technically: the current device is still about the size of two shoeboxes. The long-term goal is to develop it into a compact, portable system, eventually leading to integrated lab-on-a-chip solutions.

Interdisciplinary Application

The speed with which the method can analyze thousands of samples in a very short time makes the technology particularly interesting for use in laboratories, clinics, and drug discovery. Thanks to close interdisciplinary collaboration among experts in photonics, microbiology, and infection biology, the light scattering technique is already being used by a research institute in drug discovery and infection diagnostics.

Light scattering analysis is also suitable for applications in food inspection or monitoring drinking water quality. Such light scattering sensors may also play a role in the future in stem cell differentiation or in the study of biofilms, for example on implants or in the dental field.

About the Hugo Geiger Prize

The Hugo Geiger Prize is jointly awarded by the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development, and Energy (StMWi) and the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft to recognize innovative solutions developed by doctoral candidates in close cooperation with a Fraunhofer Institute. Submissions are evaluated by a jury comprising representatives from research and industry. The evaluation criteria include scientific quality, economic relevance, novelty, and the interdisciplinary nature of the approaches. The award was presented to the winners on March 18 by Bavarian State Secretary for Economic Affairs Tobias Gotthardt during the Fraunhofer Symposium "Netzwert".

Biosensor Detects Early Fungal Outbreaks, Advances Plant Biotechnology

2026-03-30T14:42:00.001-04:00

Image created by Dr. Michael J. Miller

A new biosensor developed at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory detects the emerging presence of fungus on plants at the molecular level, paving the way for next-generation crop protection and the development of stress-tolerant plants. The innovation advances technology for the U.S. agricultural and biomanufacturing sectors.

The sensor identifies fungal outbreaks in near-real time, well before plants show visible symptoms, enabling faster, more precise treatment than traditional monitoring methods. The technology, described in the Plant Biotechnology Journal, can also signal when beneficial plant-microbe interactions occur, helpful to plant scientists as they engineer stress-tolerant feedstock crops for the production of advanced chemicals and materials.

For example, the biosensor can help detect an emerging outbreak of Septoria canker, a fungal pathogen that causes stem canker disease in some poplar trees, a plant of interest as a perennial energy crop.

The biosensor was created using split protein segments called inteins, along with attached biomarkers to detect the presence of chitin, a core structural component of fungal cell walls. When chitin is present, the protein fragments reassemble and produce a fluorescent glow, letting researchers see the moment when a plant recognizes a microbial signal.

“These tools change how we approach functional genomics, helping us understand how genes work together to control plant systems," said Paul Abraham, R&D staff scientist and lead for the DOE Secure Ecosystem Engineering and Design Scientific Focus Area (SEED SFA), which supported the project. “Our biosensors detect and help us understand how key events unfold as plants grow, including their interaction with the environment and, in this case, with influential microbes. By enabling very early detection, the biosensor allows us to go in and characterize the molecular events surrounding the interactions.”

By functioning as a widely adaptable bioengineering tool, the sensor can be modified to identify and study other signaling molecules called ligands that are given off by microorganisms, which in turn trigger plant responses. The ability to enable faster, automated screening of ligands that interact with plant receptors gives scientists new insight into these signaling pathways that are critical to plant immune response, said Xiaohan Yang, project lead in ORNL’s Biosciences Division.

The platform can also be modified to study protein-protein interactions inside a living cell by attaching the split inteins to different proteins of interest and tracking whether they re-combine and trigger fluorescence, Yang said. These interactions are likewise essential to plant immunity — a key focus area for researchers developing plants resistant to disease or other stressors.

The invention builds on ORNL’s leadership in plant systems biology, developing molecular tools to better understand and engineer complex biological processes. The lab’s biotechnology toolbox includes sensors that can:

detect the activity of CRISPR gene editing tools in organisms, using the naked eye and an ultraviolet flashlight
visualize and track RNA activity and gene expression in living plants in real time.

Other ORNL scientists collaborating on the project are Bal Maharjan, Van Nguyen, Jerry Parks, Tomás Rush, Carrie Eckert and Jay Chen, along with first author Brian Boone, formerly with ORNL and now at Western Carolina University. The SEED SFA is a project of the DOE Office of Science Biological and Environmental Research program.

UT-Battelle manages ORNL for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. The Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time.

Reference

Boone, B.A., Maharjan, B., Nguyen, V.C., Parks, J.M., Rush, T.A., Eckert, C.A., Chen, J.-G., Abraham, P.E. and Yang, X. (2026), Use of Split-Intein Proteins to Design a Small Molecule Biosensor in Plants. Plant Biotechnol. J, 24: 2745-2747. https://doi.org/10.1111/pbi.70523.

Breath Test Using Carbon Isotopes May Quickly Confirm Bacterial Infections

2026-03-30T14:36:00.001-04:00

Image created by Dr. Michael J. Miller

A proof-of-concept study shows that bacteria-metabolized molecules enriched with carbon-13 produce detectable exhaled CO2, enabling rapid infection identification with inexpensive infrared scanners.

A simple breath test may soon offer clinicians a faster, more accessible way to confirm bacterial infections, potentially reducing unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions.

A new proof-of-concept study led by researchers at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), published in ACS Central Science, demonstrates that molecules metabolized exclusively by infecting bacteria—not by the body’s natural gut microbiome—can be used to rapidly distinguish bacterial infection from viral infection or noninfectious inflammation.

The approach centers on mannitol, a molecule that is broken down only by bacteria. Researchers enriched mannitol with carbon-13, a naturally occurring stable carbon isotope, rather than the more common carbon-12. When administered intravenously, the carbon-13-labeled mannitol is metabolized by infecting bacteria, producing a labeled carbon dioxide byproduct that is subsequently exhaled. That exhaled carbon dioxide is then measured using a nondispersive infrared spectroscopy tabletop instrument—an inexpensive, commercially available device—making the test well-suited for a wide range of clinical settings.

In preclinical testing, the breath test successfully detected signs of myositis, bacteremia, pneumonia, and osteomyelitis. Researchers tested the approach against pathogens commonly encountered in clinical environments, including Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Escherichia coli, as well as Salmonella enterica, a pathogen that poses particular risks for immunocompromised patients such as those with sickle cell disease.

Addressing a Longstanding Diagnostic Gap

Traditional bacterial infection diagnosis relies on laboratory culture, a process that can take days to yield results. The breath test approach is designed to fill that gap, offering a rapid screening option at the point of care.

“When a patient presents with certain symptoms, doctors already have an idea of the likely pathogens,” says Kiel Neumann, PhD, co-corresponding author and researcher in the St. Jude Department of Radiology, in a release. “We hope that this test could be a quick screening tool to know whether it’s a bacterial infection or not.”

The test may be especially valuable in cases where infection and inflammation are difficult to differentiate clinically. Neumann specifically highlighted the challenge in patients with sickle cell disease, where vaso-occlusive crises—which are purely inflammatory—can present with symptoms indistinguishable from infection.

“A patient might complain of nonspecific symptoms, like pain and swelling, but it is likely a vaso-occlusive crisis — purely inflammatory,” says Neumann in a release. “It could be an infection, however, and because the risk of missing an infection is high, they get antibiotics anyway, even if unnecessary.”

Next Steps Toward Clinical Validation

The researchers note that the study represents a first step, and that significant additional work is needed before the test can be validated for clinical use in humans. Co-corresponding author David Wilson, UCSF, and first author Marina López-Álvarez, UCSF, contributed to the research alongside a multi-institutional team.

“We want to explore how we can use this technology to have an impact at ground level—patients checking into urgent care or an emergency room, for example,” says Neumann in a release. “There’s a lot of work to do in humans to establish a true protocol, but we are very enthusiastic about its potential.”

The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and the American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities.

Reference

Marina López-Álvarez, Sang Hee Lee, Anju Wadhwa, Mohammad Yaqoob Bhat, Tyler S. Simmons, Jung Min Kim, Anil P. Bidkar, Spenser R. Simpson, Shari Dhaene, Jeffrey D. Steinberg, Joseph Blecha, Robert R. Flavell, Marshall D. McCue, Amanda M. Green, Renuka Sriram, Tom Desmet, Joanne Engel, Jason W. Rosch, Michael A. Ohliger, Kiel D. Neumann, and David M. Wilson. Detecting Bacteria in Their Mammalian Hosts Using Metabolism-Targeted [13C]CO2 Breath Testing. ACS Central Science Article ASAP. DOI: 10.1021/acscentsci.5c01995. 2026.

Abstract

Infectious diseases are a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. With the increasing frequency of antibiotic resistance, efficient and noninvasive diagnostic methods are more important than ever. In this report, we interrogate the use of several intravenously administered, bacteria-specific, 13C-enriched metabolites whose conversion to [13C]CO2 can be detected via a portable and inexpensive method, namely nondispersive infrared (NDIR) spectroscopy. The enriched metabolites [U-13C]maltose, [U-13C]maltotriose, d-[U-13C]mannitol, and l-[U-13C]arabinose were metabolized to [13C]CO2 by several pathogens in vitro, while showing minimal [13C]CO2 production in uninfected mice. We further demonstrated that myositis, bacteremia, pneumonia, and osteomyelitis could be detected in vivousing one or more 13C-enriched metabolites. Additionally, in a model of Escherichia coli myositis, [13C]CO2 production correlated with bacterial burden following ceftriaxone therapy, showing that exhaled [13C]CO2 could be employed to monitor antimicrobial efficacy. Finally, [13C]CO2 production by Staphylococcus aureus clinical isolates treated with [U-13C]maltose was correlated with the performance of its cognate PET tracer [2-18F]maltose, suggesting that [13C]CO2 breath testing could predict the performance of pathogen-targeted positron emission tomography (PET) tracers in vivo. [13C]CO2 breath testing using an expanded metabolite toolbox and on-site detection tools represents a unique and complementary method to identify bacterial infection in clinical practice.

New Technology Could Allow Consumers to Test for Bacterial Spoilage in Foods at Home

2026-03-30T14:27:00.000-04:00

Image created by Dr. Michael J. Miller

Researchers have developed new methods to test food for bacterial contamination that are faster and do not require expert training.

The work is being done at the University of Connecticut College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources and is led by Yangchao Luo and Zhenlei Xiao. The research was published in Food Frontiers and in Food Chemistry.

The researchers have developed new methods powered by machine learning to test for bacterial contamination and spoilage that radically reduce the cost and time required to perform such tests. Their method works by using a 96-well plate – a plate with many small areas to fill with samples – and an array of 12 sensors.

The sensors react differently with different bacteria based on their molecular structure. These interactions produce unique patterns. By feeding these patterns into a machine learning algorithm, the researchers taught a computer to detect the pathogens based on the patterns.

The new technology can detect eight different pathogenic and spoilage bacteria in milk in just two hours with more than 98 percent accuracy.

“We hope to develop a technology that can detect simultaneously as many species as possible so that we can easily trace back the original source of contamination,” Luo said.

The research team tested for five pathogenic bacteria including Listeria, E. coli, and Salmonella. They also tested for three non-pathogenic bacteria that cause spoilage.

“With this combination, we are pretty sure that we covered most cases of milk contamination,” Luo says.

The researchers approach is an improvement over existing methods, which can only test for one kind of bacteria at a time. The current process takes days and requires trained laboratory technicians.

The method developed by the researchers uses nanotechnologies with high sensitivity and machine learning to achieve results.

Because performing this test does not require any formal laboratory training, the researchers hope to eventually develop an at-home test using an app that consumers can use to check their milk for pathogens or spoilage.

Luo’s group is also developing an app that would enable a smartphone to read fluorescence data produced by sensors.

The research team is also developing a sensor to detect volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are produced by bacteria that cause spoilage in meat. These sensors can detect VOCs to determine food’s freshness, specifically beef, and determine the presence of bacteria that causes foodborne illnesses.

“Based on the VOCs we can detect a pattern that can translate into which type of bacteria these VOCs are coming from,” Luo said.

The technology works similarly to the bacterial sensors. When VOCs are released from meat, it produces a color change in the sensor that gives researchers information about what VOCs are being produced and by which bacteria. The group developed machine learning models to read the data.

The advantage of testing for VOCs rather than bacteria in raw meat is that with VOCs, the sensors do not need to be in direct contact with the bacteria, so you don’t need to take a sample out of the product to test it. Taking a sample from a batch of milk is relatively simple, but taking it out of a cut of meat is less so.

The researchers say their technology could be incorporated directly into food packaging to create an easily readable measure of potential food spoilage or contamination based on color changes in the sensor.

“VOCs are volatile – they’re just in the air,” Luo said. “So, you can detect VOCs without touching bacteria. It doesn’t require a sampling process that way. So, we can put a simple sensor on the packaging.”

WHO Recommends Near Point-of-Care Tests, Tongue Swabs, and Sputum Pooling for TB Diagnosis

2026-03-30T14:14:00.001-04:00

Image created by Dr. Michael J. Miller

The World Health Organization (WHO) is issuing, for the first time, recommendations on new near-point-of-care (NPOC) molecular tests for the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB); easy-to-collect tongue swab samples to simplify and expand access to testing; and a cost-saving sputum pooling strategy to increase testing efficiency for TB and rifampicin-resistant TB.

“These new WHO recommendations mark a major step forward in making TB testing faster and more accessible,” said Dr Tereza Kasaeva, Director of WHO’s Department for HIV, TB, Hepatitis & STIs. “WHO urges countries and partners to work together to roll out these guidelines to close persistent diagnostic gaps and ensure that everyone with TB can be diagnosed early and start life-saving treatment without delay.”

Under WHO’s End TB Strategy and the political declaration of the United Nations High Level Meeting on TB, countries committed to ensuring early TB diagnosis and universal access to WHO-recommended rapid molecular tests. Yet critical diagnostic gaps persist. Millions still face delayed or missed diagnoses due to systemic barriers, such as continued reliance on sputum as a sample type that cannot be produced by all people that may have TB, sole availability of laboratory-based tests that are not always available where people seek care or are evaluated for TB, and high costs of tests and associated testing equipment that limit availability and expansion of testing networks.

To support countries in their efforts to strengthen detection of TB disease and drug resistance, WHO issues evidence-based policy guidance on TB testing that is routinely updated. Since the most recent consolidated guidelines on TB diagnosis were issued in 2025, evidence became available on new tests, sample types, and strategies for the initial diagnosis of TB with and without drug resistance detection. In response, the WHO consolidated guidelines on tuberculosis, Module 3: Diagnosis, 2nd edition are updated and will be published in the coming weeks. The methods used to develop the new policy guidance may be found here.

This new edition recommends for the first time:

A new class of near-point-of-care nucleic acid amplification tests (NPOC-NAATs) for the initial detection of TB without rifampicin resistance at peripheral levels of the health system (i.e., peripheral laboratories, primary healthcare centres and communities) and at lower unit costs than other molecular test and instrument types;
Tongue swabs as new, readily available and easy-to-collect specimens for use with NPOC-NAATs and low-complexity automated NAATs (LC-aNAATs) for the initial detection of TB with and without rifampicin resistance among adults and adolescents that are unable to produce sputum; and
Pooling of sputa as a diagnostic strategy for the initial detection of TB and rifampicin resistance using LC-aNAATs with the potential to improve turnaround times and costs when resources are constrained.

Next steps

The complete policy for the diagnosis of TB and drug-resistant TB will be released this year in the WHO consolidated guidelines on tuberculosis. Module 3: Diagnosis. 2nd edition. The summary of findings and the evidence to decision tables will be produced in conformity with the GRADE method and made available on the WHO website.
The updated guidelines will be accompanied by the WHO operational handbook on tuberculosis. Module 3: Diagnosis. 2nd edition. The handbook will provide guidance on all technologies, sample types and strategies currently recommended, steps to introducing new TB diagnostics into a health programme and the model algorithms for testing and clinical management.
The updated operational handbook will also be accompanied by a WHO Toolkit for near point-of-care and swab-based tuberculosis testing that will outline key steps for implementation of these new tools and provide customizable planning, readiness assessment, testing, training, and monitoring and evaluation materials to facilitate program uptake.
The release of the new guidance will be followed by a series of WHO and partner organization webinars for different regions. The updates will also be included on the online WHO TB Knowledge Sharing Platform providing easy access to the guidelines and operational handbook in one place. The operational guidance, toolkit, webinars and the platform will support countries in updating their national guidelines, training staff, informing programme budgets and facilitating the transition to the use of the new interventions. National TB programmes and other stakeholders are encouraged to seek advice from WHO before introducing the latest technologies recommended in the revised guidelines.

New Rapid Test to Diagnose Syphilis and Other STIs in Under an Hour

2026-03-30T12:53:00.001-04:00

Image created by Dr. Michael J. Miller

Researchers at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity (Doherty Institute) have developed a world-first portable point-of-care test that detects four common sexually transmitted infections at once, in under an hour. The test, which detects syphilis, a high-burden infection, could significantly reduce transmission and improve access to timely treatment. 

Many sexually transmitted infections manifest with overlapping symptoms but require vastly different treatments. Early symptoms of syphilis, for example, often causes genital sores that are difficult to distinguish from those caused by herpes simplex virus (HSV). 

Without rapid, multi-pathogen testing, clinicians may rely solely on symptoms or test for a single infection, increasing the risk of misdiagnosis and delayed care. 

A study published in The Lancet Microbe describes the tool in detail: a next-generation CRISPR-based diagnostic that can simultaneously detect and distinguish between  the DNA and RNA of multiple pathogens at the same time. In addition to syphilis, the test identifies the bacterial and viral causes of other sexually transmitted infections including herpes, chlamydia and gonorrhoea, while also detecting a key antibiotic-resistance marker in gonorrhoea at the point of care, a critical advance amid growing global antimicrobial resistance. 

The University of Melbourne’s Matthew O’Neill, Research Support Officer at the Doherty Institute and co-first author of the paper, said the test delivers results in under an hour on a fully portable device, without the need for laboratory infrastructure. 

“When benchmarked against gold-standard laboratory PCR, the rapid test showed 97 –100 per cent accuracy in correctly identifying negative results, a level of precision important for safe, evidence-based treatment decisions,” he added. 

Syphilis is a growing public health threat in Australia, with diagnoses having more than doubled over the past decade, with around 6,000 cases reported in 2024.  

In August 2025, Australia’s Chief Medical Officer declared it a Communicable Disease Incident of National Significance (CDINS) as cases continued to rise.  

When syphilis is mistaken for other infections, delayed treatment allows disease progression and increases the risk of serious but preventable complications, including infertility, miscarriage and congenital syphilis. 

The University of Melbourne’s Dr Shivani Pasricha, Laboratory Head at the Doherty Institute and senior author of the paper, said concurrent research published in the Lancet Primary Care earlier this year, conducted in urban Victoria in collaboration with, and led by researchers from Melbourne Sexual Health Centre, showed that sometimes patients tested for herpes alone were  positive for syphilis, making this tool critical. 

“Syphilis has long been known as the great mimicker. Correct treatment depends on correct diagnosis,” said Dr Pasricha. 

“This novel enables accurate diagnosis and treatment immediately, without waiting days for laboratory testing or requiring multiple clinic visits,” she added.  

The technology can also support broader use of self-collected samples, making testing more accessible and acceptable for patients and accelerating pathways to treatment. 

“This makes it particularly valuable for regional, remote and underserved communities, where diagnostic delays are common and STI rates are often higher.” 

The researchers will now move the device into implementation trials, aiming for routine clinical use within the next five years. 

Reference

Low S, O’Neill M, Fernando J et al. CRISPR-Cas-based diagnostics for point-of-care detection of sexually transmitted infections: a laboratory development and evaluation study. The Lancet Microbe, 2026.

Summary

Background

Timely, point-of-care diagnosis of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is crucial for enabling prompt treatment and reducing transmission. We aimed to develop a portable, multiplexed, CRISPR-based assay panel for the detection of Neisseria gonorrhoeae (including the ciprofloxacin resistance marker gyrA S91F), Chlamydia trachomatis, Treponema pallidum, and herpes simplex virus (HSV).

Methods

In this laboratory development and evaluation study, we developed and optimised four multiplexed, CRISPR-based, diagnostic STI assays for point-of-care use. The complete assay panel comprised a CRISPR TP–HSV (cTP–HSV) panel for the detection of T pallidum and pan-HSV, with reflex testing to distinguish HSV-1 from HSV-2, and a CRISPR NG–CT (cNG–CT) panel for the detection of N gonorrhoeae and C trachomatis, with reflex testing to detect N gonorrhoeae using two additional genome regions and to identify the gyrA S91F mutation. Each pathogen was targeted at two independent genomic regions by isothermal amplification and CRISPR-Cas reaction using Cas12a and Cas13a, each with distinct fluorescent reporters. Analytical specificity and limits of detection (LODs) were determined, and a retrospective, masked concordance study was conducted on genomic DNA from 900 clinical samples (400 for cTP–HSV and reflex testing and 500 for cNG–CT and reflex testing), using quantitative PCR as the reference standard. The diagnostic accuracy of the test was assessed by analysis of receiver operating characteristic curves.

Findings

The overall sensitivity of the TP–HSV CRISPR assay was 82·5% (95% CI 74·0–88·7) for T pallidum and 94·4% (90·2–97·0) for pan-HSV; LODs were 6·2 copies per μL for T pallidum and 7·8 copies per μL for HSV. Reflex testing gave sensitivities of 97·0% (91·1–99·3) for HSV-1 and 96·0% (89·7–98·7) for HSV-2. The NG–CT CRISPR assay had an overall sensitivity of 80·0% (74·0–84·9) for N gonorrhoeae and 73·0% (65·5–79·3) for C trachomatis, with a LOD of 3·9 copies per μL for both pathogens. Reflex testing for the detection of the gyrA S91F mutation in N gonorrhoeae showed an overall sensitivity of 63·1% (55·1–70·4); however, this was dependent on sample type, with a sensitivity of 85·7% (46·7–99·5) in genital samples and 61·2% (52·8–68·9) in extragenital samples. For all pathogens, assay sensitivity was positively correlated with pathogen load. Area under the curve (AUC) values were 0·90 for T pallidum and 0·99 for pan-HSV in the TP–HSV assay, with values of 0·99 for HSV-1 and 0·97 for HSV-2 obtained in the reflex HSV-1–HSV-2 assay. For the cNG–CT assay, AUC values were 0·90 for N gonorrhoeae and 0·85 for C trachomatis, with a value of 0·72 obtained for gyrA S91F in the reflex cNG–gyrA assay.

Interpretation

Our multiplexed, CRISPR-based, point-of-care platform achieved performance consistent with WHO target product profiles for N gonorrhoeae and T pallidum. Proof-of-concept detection of the gyrA S91F resistance marker highlights its potential for resistance-guided therapy. Although optimisation is required before large-scale deployment, this suite offers a promising approach for rapid, decentralised, and resistance-informed STI diagnosis, particularly in resource-limited settings.

Smartphone-linked Thermal Camera Enables Highly Sensitive On-Site Infection Tests

2026-03-30T12:31:00.001-04:00

Image created by Dr. Michael J. Miller

A South Korean research team has developed a technology that can rapidly and accurately measure markers for inflammation and infection on-site using only a smartphone and a portable thermal camera. The test's sensitivity is seven times higher than that of conventional rapid tests.

The Korea Basic Science Institute (KBSI) announced on the 23rd that a team led by Principal Researcher Han Do-kyung of the Materials Research Division, in collaboration with Professor Sung Gee-hoon's team from Hanyang University's Department of Bionano Engineering, has developed a rapid test technology using a photothermal detection material based on the 2D nanomaterial Molybdenum Diselenide (MoSe2). The research findings were published in the 'Journal of Nanobiotechnology' on January 16 (local time).

The research team synthesized 'GA-MoSe2 nanosheets' by stably exfoliating MoSe2 using a natural surfactant, glycyrrhizic acid (GA), and utilized it as a material to generate diagnostic signals. The GA-MoSe2 nanosheets exhibit a high photothermal conversion efficiency of 64.6%—converting light into heat upon near-infrared irradiation—and possess excellent stability.

By connecting a compact thermal camera to a smartphone's USB-C port and capturing an image of a kit containing the GA-MoSe2 nanosheets, the temperature of the nanosheets changes according to the reaction level between the test subject's blood and the kit. This allows for quantification through temperature, unlike color changes which can have ambiguous criteria.

When performance was verified using C-reactive protein (CRP), a representative marker for inflammatory diseases, the sensitivity was found to be approximately 7 times higher than that of existing rapid diagnostic kits based on gold nanoparticles. CRP is a substance that increases early in the body's response to acute inflammation. Experiments based on human serum also demonstrated an accuracy of 90-105%, confirming its potential for clinical application.

Principal Researcher Han explained, "Precise diagnosis is possible without complex equipment, using only a smartphone and a portable thermal camera," adding, "This will have a significant impact on the point-of-care diagnosis of infectious and inflammatory diseases." He further projected, "Expansion into multiplex diagnostics, for analyzing multiple targets simultaneously, and into mobile healthcare platforms will also be possible."

Reference

Kim, D.H., Ha, C.H., Lee, H.B. et al. High-performance photothermal GA-MoSe2 nanosheet for rapid and sensitive point-of-care detection of C-reactive protein. J Nanobiotechnol 24, 149 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12951-025-04018-1

Abstract

In the aftermath of the global COVID-19 pandemic, there is a critical need to develop rapid and sensitive diagnostic devices for point-of-care testing (POCT). Despite the numerous benefits of paper-based colorimetric lateral flow immunoassays (LFAs) in rapid onsite diagnosis, their sensitivity and quantitative analysis capability are limited. To overcome the limitations of the current assays, we developed a new rapid diagnostic method that utilizes glycyrrhizic acid-molybdenum diselenide (GA-MoSe2), a two-dimensional photothermal nanomaterial, for the sensitive detection of C-reactive protein (CRP). GA-MoSe2 was synthesized via a facile liquid exfoliation method using glycyrrhizic acid as a natural surfactant in distilled water. The GA-MoSe2 nanosheet presented a notable photothermal effect, exhibiting an excellent photothermal conversion efficiency of 64.6% and high photothermal stability, and was successfully used as a photothermal sensing probe in an LFA. The GA-MoSe2-based photothermal LFA demonstrated a high analytical performance in CRP detection in the concentration range of 5 to 1000 ng mL− 1, exhibiting a limit of detection of 0.93 ng mL− 1 and up to 7-fold signal enhancement relative to those of traditional gold nanoparticle-based colorimetric LFAs. Moreover, the developed sensor showed high selectivity to CRP even in the presence of interfering substances in serum, excellent reproducibility, and long-term stability over 3 weeks of storage. The GA-MoSe2-based biosensor successfully detected CRP in human serum samples, showing recoveries ranging from 90 to 105% and demonstrating significant capability and feasibility for point-of-care testing.

New 'Quick DNA' kit Could Speed Up Detection of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis

2026-03-30T12:17:00.001-04:00

Image created by Dr. Michael J. Miller

Researchers from the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh; the National Institute of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases, New Delhi; and others have developed a Quick DNA kit that significantly reduces the time required to test for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (TB). Their new method was found to be as accurate as standard, time-consuming laboratory tests, but significantly more practical for use in developing nations. By using a specialised filter paper called a Trans-Filter, medical workers can now transport patient samples at room temperature, even in the searing heat of the Indian summer. This eliminates the need for complex cold chain refrigeration that often fails in rural areas and could help save thousands of lives in remote communities.

At the heart of this diagnostic breakthrough is the Trans-Filter, a membrane designed to filter out TB bacteria and turn the hazardous biological samples into safe, shippable data. While standard medical testing usually requires liquid sputum to be kept in glass vials and transported to a laboratory in refrigerated trucks, the Trans-Filter allows the sample to be dried, thereby immobilising the tuberculosis bacteria on a sturdy, paper-like surface.

The researchers screened over 1,800 patients to test the new system. The process begins with a patient’s sputum sample, which is first liquefied and then passed through the Trans-Filter device. As the liquid flows through, the membrane acts like a microscopic net, capturing the TB bacteria while letting other fluids pass. The filters are then sterilised and air-dried, which locks the bacterial DNA in the filter paper. These filters are tucked into simple, lightweight zip-lock bags for travel. The researchers found that the Trans-Filter is incredibly resilient. During testing, the membranes were stored at temperatures as high as 50°C (122°F) for up to four weeks. Even in these extreme conditions, which mimic a heatwave in rural India, the bacterial DNA remained perfectly preserved.

Once this filter reaches a central laboratory, the Quick DNA kit employs a method known as heat lysis. By heating the filter in a specialised buffer solution at 80°C for five minutes, the tough outer walls of the TB bacteria are disrupted, releasing their DNA. This genetic material is then analysed using a Line Probe Assay (LPA), a method that detects specific mutations in the bacterial genome. These mutations are biological markers that indicate whether the TB strain is resistant to standard antibiotics such as rifampicin or isoniazid.

Traditionally, extracting DNA from a TB sample was a laborious seven-step process that took nearly an hour to complete. Furthermore, the standard method for transporting TB samples involves packing them on ice and transporting them to a laboratory within 48 hours to prevent spoilage. The Quick DNA kit reduces extraction to a single step that takes only five minutes, and the use of the Trans-Filter ensures that samples remain stable for weeks at room temperature. This eliminates the logistical challenges of maintaining a cold chain in regions with unreliable electricity or long travel distances, thereby making advanced testing available to patients who were previously unreachable.

The researchers, however, noted that the study focused primarily on smear-positive samples, which are those with a high bacterial concentration. Further research may be needed to determine whether the kit is sufficiently sensitive for smear-negative patients, who carry fewer bacteria and are often more difficult to diagnose. Additionally, although the test was highly accurate for most drug resistance markers, a small subset of samples involving a specific gene, inhA, showed lower sensitivity. This was largely because those specific mutations are rarer, sometimes yielding weaker signals that are more difficult for laboratory technicians to interpret.

Nevertheless, the study provides an easy test for a difficult challenge. Tuberculosis remains one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases, and the rise of drug-resistant strains is a global health emergency. In countries such as India, the time between a patient’s first symptoms and the initiation of appropriate treatment is often far too long. By simplifying sample transport and expediting laboratory work, this new kit helps bridge that gap.

Reference

Gupta, R.K., Chauhan, K., Singhal, R. et al. Development and evaluation of ‘Quick TB DNA Extraction’ kit for the rapid and efficient detection of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis from sputum transported on bio-safe filter. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-025-05312-4

Abstract

Purpose

We recently demonstrated the utility of the 'TB Concentration & Transport' kit for bio-safe, ambient-temperature transport of dried sputum samples on Trans-Filter, along with the 'TB DNA Extraction' kit for efficient DNA extraction from Trans-Filter for use in the Line Probe Assay (LPA) for diagnosing drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB). The present study aimed to develop and evaluate a new ‘Quick TB DNA Extraction’ kit ('Quick DNA' kit) for rapid DNA isolation from Trans-Filter samples and assess its compatibility with LPA for the detection of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB).

Methods

Consecutive presumptive TB/MDR-TB/XDR-TB patients (n = 1823) were screened using LED-FM and/or TBDetect microscopy at 2 Designated Microscopy Centres associated with the National Institute of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases (NITRD), New Delhi. Smear-positive samples (n = 235) were processed in duplicate using the ‘TB Concentration and Transport’ kit. Dried sputum on bio-safe Trans-Filters was transported at ambient temperature, along with sputum samples, in a 3-layer packing in cooling conditions to NITRD Hospital (a National Reference Laboratory). DNA was extracted from Trans-Filters using 'Quick DNA' kit and the ‘TB DNA Extraction’ kit, and from sputum using Hain’s GenoLyse® DNA Extraction kit for first-line LPA for MDR-TB detection.

Results

Quick Kit-LPA and Kit-LPA (LPA with DNA extracted from Trans-Filter using 'Quick DNA' kit and ‘TB DNA Extraction’ kit, respectively) showed similar sensitivity of 88.9% (95% CI: 65.3–98.6) and 88.5% (95% CI: 69.9-97.5) and specificity of 100% (95% CI: 98.2–100) and 99.5% (95% CI: 97.3–99.9) for rifampicin and isoniazid resistance detection, respectively against Direct-LPA (LPA with DNA extracted from sputum samples using GenoLyse kit). User feedback obtained from laboratory technicians corroborated that the one-step 'Quick DNA' kit procedure was rapid (5 minutes), easy to perform, seamlessly integrated with LPA testing, and was suitable as a replacement for Kit-LPA or Direct-LPA.- ,

Conclusion

The gap between drug-resistant TB detection and treatment initiation can be narrowed through Universal-Drug Susceptibility Testing by implementing (i) bio-safe and ambient temperature transport of sputum from primary healthcare centres to central laboratories, and (ii) by using Quick Kit-LPA over Direct-LPA in patients residing in remote areas.

Researchers Develop Rapid Testing for Chicken Infectious Anemia Virus

2026-03-30T12:09:00.002-04:00

Image created by Dr. Michael J. Miller

Researchers from China have developed a fast and highly sensitive CRISPR-based test to detect Chicken Infectious Anemia Virus (CIAV), a disease that causes anemia and immune dysfunction, resulting in major economic losses for farmers. The new method uses the CRISPR-Cas12a system to improve accuracy and the rate of virus detection.

The study optimized a CRISPR-Cas12a-based fluorescence assay by integrating it with enzymatic recombinase amplification (ERA). This optimization allowed the test to detect extremely small amounts of viral genetic material. The researchers also created a CRISPR-Cas12a lateral flow assay to enable visual detection of target analytes without the need for complex laboratory equipment.

Results showed that the fluorescence assay could detect CIAV at levels as low as one copy per microliter, while the lateral flow test achieved reliable detection with a sensitivity of 103 copies per microliter. The system showed high specificity, with no cross-reactivity with other common chicken viruses. The researchers concluded that this CRISPR-based detection method offers a rapid, cost-effective tool for early CIAV detection to support better disease monitoring and control in poultry production.

Reference

Chenchen Sheng, Jingfang Wang, Mengyuan Tan, jingwen Zhang, Mengran Sun, Jiumeng Sun, Ying Shao, Jian Tu, Liangqiang Zhu, Xiangjun Song. Establishment of detection method of chicken infectious anemia virus based on CRISPR/Cas12a system. Research in Veterinary Science, Volume 201, 2026.

Abstract

Chicken Infectious Anemia Virus (CIAV) causes chicken infectious anemia, characterized by anemia and immune dysfunction. The rapid dissemination of this virus is generating substantial economic consequences for poultry producers. The CRISPR/Cas12a system is widely used for virus detection through crRNA-guided target recognition and the paracrine activity of Cas12a. To enable rapid and highly sensitive detection of Chicken Infectious Anemia Virus (CIAV), a CRISPR-Cas12a-based fluorescence assay was refined. Through optimization of the CRISPR/Cas12a system and integration of enzymatic recombinase amplification (ERA), the assay achieved a detection limit of 1 copy/μL, demonstrating its significant utility for CIAV diagnostics. In addition, a CRISPR/Cas12a lateral flow assay was developed and optimized, achieving a sensitivity of 10^3 copies/μL for the rapid and visual detection of target analytes. This technique exhibits high specificity for CIAV, showing no cross-reactivity with other chicken viruses. Overall, the system enables rapid CIAV detection with cost-effective equipment, making it suitable for virus monitoring.

McGill Researchers Unveil Rapid Test to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance

2026-02-08T15:06:00.001-05:00

Image created by Dr. Michael J. Miller

A breakthrough in bacterial detection promises faster, more effective treatments.

In a groundbreaking development, scientists at McGill University have created a diagnostic system that can identify bacteria and determine which antibiotics are effective against them in just 36 minutes.

This innovation marks a significant step forward in the global fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR), a growing public health threat. Traditional laboratory tests often take 48 to 72 hours, delaying treatment decisions and contributing to inappropriate antibiotic use.

The global threat of antimicrobial resistance

Antimicrobial resistance occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites evolve to resist the drugs designed to kill them.

Over time, this makes infections harder to treat, increasing the risk of severe illness and death. AMR is already responsible for over one million deaths annually worldwide, surpassing fatalities from diseases like HIV/AIDS or malaria.

Experts warn that delayed diagnosis and misuse of antibiotics are major drivers of this crisis, emphasising the urgent need for rapid, reliable testing methods.

Introducing QolorPhAST: Fast, accurate, and portable

The new system, named QolorPhAST, is compact, automated, and engineered to deliver ultra-fast results.

The device leverages cutting-edge nanotechnology to detect bacterial activity: when live bacteria metabolise, nanosensors change colour almost instantly.

This colour shift is then analysed by machine-learning algorithms to identify both the type of bacteria and their susceptibility to antibiotics without requiring overnight cultures.

Developed in Professor Sara Mahshid’s lab at McGill, QolorPhAST combines expertise in nanomaterials engineering, microfluidics, optical physics, and artificial intelligence.

Former PhD students Mahsa Jalali and Tamer AbdElFatah played pivotal roles in translating these advanced technologies into a practical diagnostic tool.

Clinical testing shows promising results

In a blind clinical trial using 54 urine samples, QolorPhAST demonstrated a high degree of accuracy compared to traditional laboratory methods, while reducing testing time dramatically.

Its portability, ease of use, and affordability make it suitable for widespread deployment, including in clinics treating urinary tract and sexually transmitted infections.

By enabling rapid, precise identification of bacterial infections, QolorPhAST helps physicians prescribe the right antibiotics immediately, potentially reducing the overuse and misuse of these drugs – a key driver of antimicrobial resistance.

The road ahead

The McGill team is now moving toward commercialisation. The goal is to bring QolorPhAST to healthcare settings worldwide, providing a critical tool in the battle against drug-resistant infections.

As AMR continues to threaten global health, innovations like QolorPhAST could become essential in bridging the gap between diagnosis and effective treatment, ensuring faster, more targeted care and helping to curb the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

A New Calorimetric Chip Enables Faster Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing

2026-02-01T11:43:00.002-05:00

Image created by Dr. Michael J. Miller

Heat generation is a universal signature of chemical reactions and cellular metabolism, making calorimetry a direct and information-rich analytical tool. In biological and clinical contexts, metabolic heat can reveal microbial growth and responses to external stress, including antibiotics. However, traditional calorimetric methods typically rely on single-channel measurements, complex fabrication, or long incubation times, limiting their clinical utility. Existing rapid antimicrobial susceptibility tests often depend on optical labels or imaging, which require stringent sample preparation and can introduce bias. Based on these challenges, there is a clear need to develop a scalable, sensitive, and label-free calorimetric platform capable of high-throughput measurements and rapid biological assessment.

Researchers at Beijing Institute of Technology report a high-throughput chip calorimeter based on a bismuth telluride thermopile sensor array, published in Microsystems & Nanoengineering in 2025. The study demonstrates a modular calorimetric system capable of monitoring chemical reactions and bacterial metabolism in real time. Using parallel sensing units and disposable micro-incubation chambers, the platform enables rapid antimicrobial susceptibility testing within four hours, while maintaining accuracy consistent with established clinical standards.

The core of the platform is a thermoelectric heat-flux sensor array fabricated from paired n-type and p-type bismuth telluride pillars arranged in series. Through finite-element simulations and experimental validation, the researchers optimized the geometry of the thermocouples to maximize power sensitivity while minimizing thermal conductance. Increasing thermocouple height proved particularly effective, yielding voltage responses of approximately 1 V per watt of applied heat.

The system integrates eight independent sensing units, allowing simultaneous measurements with minimal thermal cross-talk. Calibration was achieved using both electrical heating and well-defined chemical mixing reactions, confirming linear and reproducible heat-to-voltage conversion.

As a proof of concept, the system monitored metabolic heat from Escherichia coli cultures exposed to four commonly used antibiotics. Distinct heat-flux patterns revealed growth inhibition at specific concentrations, enabling determination of minimum inhibitory concentrations within four hours. Importantly, the results matched values recommended by international clinical guidelines, demonstrating both speed and reliability. The use of disposable micro-chambers further reduces contamination risks and simplifies operation, making the platform suitable for routine testing.

According to the researchers, metabolic heat provides a universal and unbiased indicator of microbial viability. By directly measuring heat output rather than secondary markers, the calorimetric approach captures the integrated physiological response of bacteria to antibiotics. The team emphasizes that combining thermoelectric sensing with parallel chip design bridges a critical gap between laboratory-grade calorimetry and clinically relevant diagnostics. They note that the system’s robustness, scalability, and compatibility with disposable sample handling could significantly lower barriers to adoption in medical and research laboratories.

Beyond antimicrobial susceptibility testing, the chip-based calorimeter has broad implications for chemical analysis, biotechnology, and point-of-care diagnostics. Its ability to quantify reaction enthalpy and metabolic activity in real time makes it suitable for screening chemical reactions, studying microbial physiology, and evaluating drug efficacy. The modular design allows future expansion to larger sensor arrays and automated sample handling, supporting high-throughput workflows. By delivering rapid, label-free, and scalable heat measurements, this technology may accelerate clinical decision-making, reduce unnecessary antibiotic use, and contribute to global efforts to combat antimicrobial resistance.

Reference

Liu, Y., Chen, Z., Xie, Y. et al. High-throughput chip-calorimeter using a Bi2Te3 thermopile heat flux sensor array. Microsyst Nanoeng 11, 237 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41378-025-01082-3

Abstract

Modern thermoelectric modules have emerged as promising platforms for precision thermal analysis in biological and chemical applications. This study presents a high-throughput microcalorimeter employing a patterned bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) thermopile array as integrated heat flux sensors, overcoming the throughput limitations of conventional calorimetric systems. Through finite element analysis-guided device optimization, we established that increasing thermocouple height from 0.4 mm to 0.8 mm reduces thermal conductance, achieving around 1 VxW^-1 power sensitivity. The system demonstrated dual-mode calibration methods using both the electrical (Joule heating) and the chemical (water-ethanol mixing enthalpy) references. Device functionality was validated through real-time monitoring of Escherichia coli metabolism, revealing distinct thermal signatures upon antibiotic challenge. The antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) is performed with 4 commonly used antibiotics. The platform achieved 4 h AST with coherent values to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines for minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) determination. Notably, the modular chip architecture integrates 8 sensing units as a proof-of-concept, coupled with disposable microfluidic chambers that eliminate cross-contamination risks. This chip-calorimeter implementation establishes a new paradigm for chemical reaction heat measurement and rapid clinical diagnostics of infectious diseases.

Hyderabad AIG Hospitals Introduces Non-Invasive Test for Early Detection of H. pylori Infections

2026-02-01T11:34:00.002-05:00

Image created by Dr. Michael J. Miller

AIG Hospitals announced the introduction of PYtest, a non-invasive diagnostic test for detecting active Helicobacter pylori infections. The test has been developed by Nobel Laureate Barry Marshall. The test will be available at both the Gachibowli and Banjara Hills branches of the hospital.

Helicobacter pylori is among the most common bacterial infections in India and is associated with chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer disease, gastric cancer and MALT lymphoma. Despite its high prevalence, diagnosis has largely depended on invasive endoscopy-based procedures, often resulting in delayed or missed detection.

Announcing the launch, Dr. D. Nageshwar Reddy, Chairman, AIG Hospitals, said the new test would significantly improve patient comfort and encourage early screening. “The test eliminates the fear and hesitation associated with invasive procedures and brings us one step closer to early detection and prevention of serious gastric diseases,” he said.

PYtest is a Urea [14C] Breath Test that provides both qualitative and quantitative results. It enables physicians not only to confirm the presence of infection but also to assess the degree of bacterial activity. Unlike conventional diagnostic methods such as endoscopy and biopsy-based Rapid Urease Tests, the PYtest does not require invasive procedures or anaesthesia and delivers results within minutes, making it safer and more convenient for patients.

To implement the testing facility, AIG Hospitals has constituted a dedicated clinical team of gastroenterologists comprising Dr. Aniruddha Pratap Singh, Dr. Krithi Krishna and Dr. Rakesh Garlapati, under the supervision of Dr. Rakesh Kalapala.

KFU and LETI Research Ways of Hyperspectral Imaging Detection of Biofilm Composition

2026-01-29T07:15:00.002-05:00

Image created by Dr. Michael J. Miller

Scientists from Kazan Federal University (KFU) and Saint Petersburg Electrotechnical University (LETI) have demonstrated how hyperspectral analysis, an "optical fingerprint" technology, is capable of determining the species composition of bacterial biofilm communities in real-time and detecting the presence of dangerous microorganisms within them. This capability is key to the effective treatment of infections. The study is presented in Analytica Chimica Acta.

The vast majority of infectious diseases in humans and animals are linked, to varying degrees, to the formation of biofilms—complex structures in which communities of microorganisms are immersed in a protective matrix they secrete. This extracellular polymeric substrate creates a reliable shelter for bacteria, making them invulnerable to the immune system and resistant to antimicrobial drugs. It is this resistance that underlies the chronicity of many infections and frequent therapeutic failures.

A particular challenge is that under natural conditions, whether on an implant surface or in a wound bed, biofilms are formed not by a single species, but by several types of microbes. In such mixed consortia, complex interactions arise between bacteria that can radically alter the properties of the entire community. For instance, a previous study showed that a tandem of the fungus Candida and Staphylococcus aureus demonstrates increased resistance, whereas a pairing of S. aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa can become more vulnerable to certain antibiotics. Therefore, for effective treatment, it is critically important to quickly and accurately determine exactly who comprises the microbial alliance.

The main goal of the work was to evaluate the potential of hyperspectral analysis for the non-invasive diagnosis of biofilm composition. This technology allows for the acquisition of images of light reflected from an object simultaneously across a multitude of spectral channels, creating its unique "optical passport" without the need for microbiological culture and the isolation of individual microorganism strains.

"The mechanisms underlying the species specificity of the hyperspectral profile are not yet fully clear. We do not yet know exactly what drives this—whether it is primarily the chemical composition of the extracellular polymeric matrix, or if the morphological characteristics of the biofilm play the defining role. Most likely, the observed effect is complex in nature, and the precise mechanisms remain to be elucidated," commented Airat Kayumov, Chair of the KFU Department of Genetics.

Biofilm modeling and biochemical analysis of their matrix were performed at Kazan University with support from the Russian Science Foundation. Hyperspectral measurements and data analysis, including the use of deep machine learning methods, were conducted at LETI. The experiments confirmed that each studied biofilm possesses an individual reflection spectrum. Importantly, the spectrograms of mixed communities are not a simple sum of the spectra of individual species, but rather reflect their complex non-linear interaction, while preserving features that allow for the identification of the consortium participants.

"To identify the species composition of microorganisms in biofilms, we applied a wide spectrum of modern statistical methods—from Bayesian networks, which allow for the visual illustration of correlation links between the spectral structure of reflected light and the biochemical characteristics of the biofilm (allowing a biologist or physician-researcher to interpret the results to some degree), to convolutional networks that integrate spectral and structural information. Through this, accuracy levels of 0.96–0.99 were achieved for certain typical pairs of microorganisms," noted Mikhail Bogachev, one of the study's authors and Chief Researcher at the Department of Radio Engineering Systems LETI.

The new data pave the way for the creation of rapid diagnostic devices. By directing a compact hyperspectral scanner at a wound or implant surface, a doctor could almost instantly (within minutes, compared to several hours for PCR diagnostics and several days for classical bacteriological culture) obtain information on the species composition of the biofilm and select targeted therapy taking into account specific interactions within the microbial community. The path from laboratory prototype to clinical practice requires solving a number of tasks. The main question involves the method's sensitivity under real-world conditions.

"Theoretically, in a controlled environment, these technologies allow for the detection of 10 or more microorganism cells. Therefore, the key task now is testing on real biological surfaces: skin, mucous membranes, as well as on objects contaminated with organic matter. This is what will determine whether the detection threshold corresponds to clinically significant concentrations at the stage of early colonization," added Dr. Kayumov.

Reference

Mikhail I. Bogachev, Pavel S. Baranov, Aleksandr M. Sinitca, Anna V. Mironova, Dmitry R. Sharivzyanov, Alexander A. Basmanov, Elena Y. Trizna, Anna S. Gorshkova, Nikita S. Pyko, Airat R. Kayumov, Non-contact identification of opportunistic pathogens in mixed biofilm contaminations by hyperspectral imaging, Analytica Chimica Acta, Volume 1388, 2026, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aca.2026.345098.

Abstract

Background

Biofilms are present on almost all surfaces in households, healthcare and medical equipment, foods, industrial and water supply systems, and often contain opportunistic pathogens that represent one of the key public health hazards. The highest risks are imposed by ESKAPEE pathogens, as well as mixed bacterial-fungal communities often exhibiting multiple drug resistance, this way challenging public healthcare.

Results

Here we show how recent developments in hyperspectral imaging technology, complemented by advanced image analysis and machine learning methods, create a unique framework for the potential design of non-contact monitoring systems operating at the macroscale. We could successfully identify five key pathogenic bacteria and a common pathogenic yeast, C. albicans, that frequently occur on surfaces in monospecies and mixed biofilms consisting of combinations of various strains using hyperspectral imaging in the visible, near-infrared, and short-wave infrared spectral bands. Our results indicate that the above pathogenic species could be identified in monocultural biofilms with 95–99.5 % accuracy, while in more frequently occurring mixed biofilms obtained by combining different microorganisms, the accuracy ranges from 90 to 92 % for gram-negative E. coli, K. pneumoniae, and P. aeruginosa to 96–99 % for fungi and gram-positive E. faecalis and S. aureus, respectively, under in vitro conditions.

Significance

Based on our results, we believe that hyperspectral imaging represents a promising and highly efficient technology for the rapid, regular, non-contact monitoring of various equipment and surfaces to detect bacterial and fungal pathogens in situ.

Provided by Kazan Federal University

Southampton Researchers Trial Rapid Test for Winter Respiratory Infections

2026-01-27T07:20:00.002-05:00

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Southampton researchers are trialling a new test that could cut the time to diagnose winter respiratory viral infections from several hours to just a few minutes.

If proven to be accurate, the point-of-care test could provide the NHS with a highly scalable, low-cost diagnostic tool. It would help clinicians make faster decisions and improve patient care during winter periods when hospitals face intense pressure from respiratory infections.

Current hospital PCR test processes can take over two hours to deliver a result, require laboratory processing and are expensive to perform. The new platform is not only much quicker but can also be used by staff without specialist training.

The test costs between £2 and £3 per test, which is comparable to lateral flow devices and would be at least ten times cheaper than current rapid PCR testing.

Respiratory viruses such as flu, Covid-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are a major driver of winter pressure in the NHS, accounting for a high proportion of emergency department attendances during peak winter periods.

This increase in ED attendance and hospitalisation often leads to significant operational problems, including a lack of bed capacity and cancellation of elective surgery.

The technology, developed by the UK medical device company Ediphor, uses novel biosensor technology to identify respiratory viruses in just 60 seconds. The entire test process, including sample collection, takes around four minutes.

The study is being led by Tristan Clark , Professor of Infectious Diseases at the University of Southampton and honorary consultant at University Hospital Southampton (UHS). It is delivered through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Southampton Biomedical Research Centre.

Professor Clark said: “This novel and exciting technology has the potential to be a real game-changer. Rapid, accurate diagnosis is crucial during winter surges, but current testing methods are too slow and often very expensive.

“A cheap, accurate test which delivers results in just a few minutes could transform how we manage respiratory infections in hospitals as well as in other settings.”

The trial, which is already underway at UHS, will evaluate the accuracy and performance of the test by comparing it with existing diagnostic methods. The data collected will be analysed to help build the evidence needed for regulatory approval and future NHS adoption.

Professor Clark added: “While this study won’t change how we manage patients this winter, it’s a vital step in generating the evidence required to support new diagnostic technologies that could make a significant difference in years to come.

“In addition, this technology is uniquely flexible in that it can be adapted to detect many different types of biomolecular targets, and not just respiratory viruses”.

Professor Clark was recently awarded a highly prestigious NIHR Research Professorship. This new trial builds on his long-standing expertise in infectious disease diagnostics and translational research, including earlier work on rapid flu testing published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine.

The findings from the study will inform future clinical trials and decision-making around the use of rapid diagnostics during periods of peak demand.

The research follows plans announced by the University of Southampton and University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust for the Institute for Medical Innovation (IMI) - a groundbreaking new initiative that will bring together the greatest minds in medicine, computer science and engineering in the fight against devastating diseases, including respiratory conditions.

RT-PCR Being Used to Track Nipah Virus Outbreaks

2026-01-27T06:56:00.003-05:00

Image created by Dr. Michael J. Miller

Following news of the Nipah virus outbreak in India, the Department of Medical Sciences is ready to monitor for the Nipah virus using the Real-time RT-PCR method, a standard international method with high sensitivity and specificity. This allows for rapid reporting of results to support timely disease surveillance and control, ensuring public health safety in the country.

Dr. Sarawut Boonsuk, Director-General of the Department of Medical Sciences, revealed that Nipah virus infection is a zoonotic disease (transmitted from animals to humans ) caused by contact with animal feces or bodily fluids of disease vectors, namely fruit bats, especially the fruit bat, as well as animals infected by bats, such as pigs, horses, cats, goats, and sheep. It can also be transmitted from person to person through contact with infected bodily fluids such as blood or saliva. The disease first spread among pig farmers in the village of Nipah, Malaysia, in 1998, which is the origin of the virus’s name. Currently, there are reports of infections in India, while no cases have been reported in Thailand.

The Director-General of the Department of Medical Sciences further stated that the Department of Medical Sciences, through the Public Health Science Research Institute , which serves as the country's reference laboratory for disease diagnosis, is ready to diagnose Nipah virus using the Real-time RT-PCR method. This method has high sensitivity and specificity and can test various types of samples, such as blood, nasal and throat secretions, cerebrospinal fluid, and urine. At least two types of samples will be collected, and results can be reported within 8 hours of sample receipt.

Currently, there is no cure or vaccine for Nipah virus infection; treatment is symptomatic. Therefore, the public is advised to protect themselves by avoiding contact with reservoir animals and carriers, washing fruits thoroughly before consumption, and washing hands with soap after touching animals, meat, or animal carcasses, especially bats, pigs, horses, cats, goats, and sheep.

"Hospitals can send samples from suspected Nipah virus patients with high fever and a history of contact with animals or consumption of suspected fruits, or those returning from affected areas, for testing and inquiries at the Department of Medical Sciences Service Center, and the Laboratory Analysis and Surveillance Coordination Center, Public Health Science Research Institute, Department of Medical Sciences.

Portable Device Enables Rapid Pathogen Detection in Diverse Field Environments

2026-01-14T11:32:00.001-05:00

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Purdue University researchers have developed a device for more conveniently detecting pathogens in health care settings, on farms and in food production operations.

Nafisa Rafiq, a Ph.D. student in biomedical engineering, and Mohit Verma, associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering, described their new system in the IEEE Sensors Journal. Rafiq, Verma and Bibek Raut, also a Ph.D. student in biomedical engineering at Purdue, have submitted a patent application for related technologies. Verma serves as chief technology officer of Krishi, a startup company that develops molecular assays.

"The device marks an advancement in the suite of tools that are available to conduct molecular assays in the field," Verma said. "Due to its versatility and ease of use, it has the potential to be applied across multiple fields."

Development and features of IsoHeat device

Rafiq was among Verma's co-authors of a 2024 paper that announced the development of a new biosensor for fast and easy detection of fecal contamination on produce farms. The new publication announces the development of a system called IsoHeat for processing those test samples.

"This project was mainly about hardware, fabricating the water bath system to process our biological samples," Rafiq said. She and Verma designed the device for performing an assay called loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP). Invented 25 years ago, LAMP detects microbes by amplifying—making extra copies of—target nucleic acids. LAMP's chemical reaction happens at a single, constant temperature to detect any pathogen or nucleic acid targets, such as antimicrobial resistance.

"We aimed to make the system portable, having uniform heat distribution throughout the water while heating and allowing the user to observe continuous changes with the naked eye," Rafiq and Verma reported. "The ease of use, precise temperature control in a sealed setup, and visual monitoring of LAMP assays make our device novel and ideal for rapid on-farm molecular diagnostics."

Testing, design and user considerations

Rafiq and Verma tested their IsoHeat device against a widely used piece of equipment for heating LAMP assays in the field. IsoHeat reached the target temperature of 149 degrees Fahrenheit (65 degrees Celsius) in about 12 minutes. The commercially available precision cooker they tested IsoHeat against needs about 36 minutes to reach the same temperature.

Further, as Rafiq and Verma noted in their paper, "IsoHeat was specifically designed to be operated by nonspecialists in the field or low-resource settings."

Drawing on her undergraduate training in industrial engineering, Rafiq fabricated various parts of the tabletop device using 3D printing and laser-cutting technologies. The finished product consists mainly of an electrical system that heats and maintains water at the desired temperature, the hardware and a power supply unit.

"The initial challenge that I faced was to select the optimized material to fabricate," Rafiq said. "We needed to think about cost-effectiveness. Also, we needed to think about portability. It must be light and easy to manage for the end user to transport." Further, because the system is electrical and involves water, "we had to make sure, above everything, that the system is completely safe and user-friendly."

Convenience and practical applications

Convenience features include a sealed container to help maintain uniform heating, a hanging sample holder and simple touchscreen controls. The device dispenses with the need to tape samples to the container wall in hot water while wearing protective gloves.

"We can prepare biological samples and then use our system to process those samples and get our output anywhere," Rafiq said.

Reference

Nafisa Rafiq et al, Design and Development of a Field-Deployable Water Bath for Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Assay, IEEE Sensors Journal (2025). DOI: 10.1109/jsen.2025.3588790

Abstract

Nucleic acid testing has become a prominent method for rapid microbial detection. Unlike polymerase chain reaction (PCR), loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is a simple method of nucleic acid amplification where the reaction can be performed at a constant temperature and the output provided in a colorimetric format. A transparent water bath is a desirable instrument to perform the heating and observe the visual results. However, existing methods of heating water are not convenient for loading and unloading the test samples. Here, we developed a field-deployable water bath—an isothermal heater called IsoHeat for short—which is dedicated to performing LAMP reactions. Using 3D-printing and laser-cutting technology, we fabricated different parts and mechanically assembled the parts to develop the device. Users can commence the heating by pressing the start button on the screen after entering the target temperature. Subsequently, the device heats the water and maintains the target temperature through a PID algorithm-based control system. We demonstrate that IsoHeat can operate in environmental temperatures ranging from 5 ∘ C to 33 ∘ C, and it can conduct LAMP reactions in liquid format as well as in paper-based devices. IsoHeat is more efficient and user-friendly compared to a commercially available immersion-heating device, which is often used to perform LAMP reactions. This newly developed device would be helpful to detect pathogens conveniently in the field (e.g., at point-of-care for human applications, on farms for plant and animal applications, and in production facilities for food safety applications).

Microfluidic Platform Identifies Pathogens in Under 20 Minutes

2026-01-13T11:34:00.001-05:00

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Combining microfluidics, Raman spectroscopy and deep learning, AutoEnricher is capable of rapidly flagging very low concentrations of pathogens and diagnosing multiple infections simultaneously. The new system has the potential to be a powerful tool in the fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR), one of the world’s biggest emerging health challenges.

AMR is driven in large part by the overuse of antibiotics, particularly in emergency situations where the source of infection cannot be easily identified. Resistance to antibiotics is estimated to have caused five million deaths in 2019, a figure projected to rise to 10 million a year by 2050. By rapidly diagnosing the cause of infections, AutoEnricher could prevent the overuse of antibiotics that is fuelling the AMR crisis. The device is described in Nature Communications.

“One of the major drivers of antibiotic resistance is the misuse or overuse of drugs to treat infections,” said Jiabao Xu of Glasgow University's James Watt School of Engineering, one of the paper’s first authors.

“Currently, it can take days or even weeks to culture microbes taken from patient samples in the lab to enable diagnosis. That means doctors often have to act urgently and use antibiotics to treat patients suffering from life-threatening conditions like sepsis or pneumonia without knowing for sure if they actually have a bacterial infection.”

AutoEnricher works in two stages. In the first, a proprietary microfluidic device scrubs human cells from samples of blood, urine or spinal fluid, leaving behind only pathogen cells. The second stage uses Raman spectroscopy to determine the unique chemical fingerprints of the pathogens present. A deep learning model - trained on a database of 342 clinical isolates from 36 species of bacteria and fungi – then delivers a diagnosis in less than 20 minutes.

The performance of the system was validated with the help of three hospitals in China that provided samples from a total of 305 patients. These samples were also tested using conventional lab methods to culture the bacteria. AutoEnricher’s diagnosis matched the lab results 95 per cent of the time, while also managing to identify mixed infections that were missed in the lab.

“These are really encouraging results from the largest study of its kind conducted on real patient samples,” said Professor Wei Huang of Oxford University, a co-investigator on the project.

“We’ve shown that this single-cell approach to diagnosis can rapidly deliver remarkably accurate results, and even pick out multiple infections which are much harder to spot using conventional lab culture methods.”

Reference

Li, Y., Xu, J., Yi, X. et al. Rapid culture-free diagnosis of clinical pathogens via integrated microfluidic-Raman micro-spectroscopy. Nat Commun 17, 283 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-66996-y

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a critical global health challenge, demanding rapid and accurate diagnostics to guide timely antimicrobial therapy. Current diagnosis is hindered by prolonged culturing and difficulties detecting low pathogen loads. Here, we present a culture-free diagnostic platform that integrates microfluidics, Raman micro-spectroscopy, and deep learning to deliver “sample-to-report” testing within 20 min. The microfluidic enrichment system employs dialysis-dielectrophoresis (DEP) technology to rapidly isolate pathogens directly from clinical samples with a detection limit as low as <2 colony forming unit (CFU)/ml. Combining a single-cell Raman fingerprint database of 342 clinical isolates from 29 bacterial and 7 fungal species with a 1D ResNet deep learning model, our approach achieved 95.1% accuracy in lab settings. Validated in a 305-patient clinical study involving primary urine and other clinical samples, it demonstrated 95.4% agreement with traditional culture methods and 98.5% sensitivity in diagnosing infections. While broader validation is needed for clinical implementation, the integrated, rapid diagnosis pipeline, as well as broad-spectrum detection, offer a promising solution for next-generation diagnostics for combating AMR.

From 4 Days to 4 Hours: How a Pune Hospital Cuts Infection Detection Time with Advanced Sequencing Technologies

2026-01-13T11:27:00.002-05:00

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New technologies and next-generation sequencing at the Direct Relief Center of Excellence for Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine laboratory, set up at Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital in Pune, have helped reduce the time required to identify bacteria, fungi, and drug-resistant organisms from two to four days to just a few hours.

Recently, a 25-year-old post-transplant patient was saved from septic shock after doctors identified a rare fungal infection in her bloodstream within hours, allowing them to begin appropriate antifungal treatment immediately. This process usually takes days, and rapid diagnosis allowed doctors to start the correct antifungal treatment, preventing organ failure and likely saving her life, Dr Dhananjay Kelkar, Medical Director, DMH.

According to Dr Kelkar, the laboratory is equipped with technologies such as MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, PCR-based platforms, advanced tuberculosis diagnostics, and next-generation DNA sequencing.

“These tools have helped reduce the time to identify the organism related to a particular infection. Compared to two to three days using conventional methods, diagnosis is rapid, and test results are delivered within two to three hours. This allows doctors to move from broad, empirical treatment to precise, targeted therapy much earlier,” he said.

According to hospital data, the laboratory conducted 6,722 advanced diagnostic tests in 2024 and 5,069 tests in 2025, indicating an increasing reliance on rapid diagnostics, particularly for critically ill, immunocompromised, and drug-resistant infection patients.

The lab uses advanced molecular diagnostic technologies to detect infections much faster than conventional laboratory methods. While routine tests at the facility cost between Rs 150 and Rs 1,500, specialised molecular and sequencing-based tests range from Rs 2,400 to Rs 18,000.

Reducing overall treatment costs

Doctors at DMH explain that although some of these tests appear expensive, they often reduce overall treatment costs by shortening hospital stays, preventing complications, and avoiding unnecessary or ineffective medications.

“Our faster turnaround times mean patients receive life-saving treatment without delay. We are turning impossible cases into success stories every day,” Dr Kelkar said, adding that previously these complex infections at times were a challenge to diagnose and treat.

DMH is among the few centres in western India that have been diagnosing and treating drug-resistant tuberculosis like XDR, MDR, and PDR TB, Dr Kelkar said. He also said that to address the high burden of infectious diseases in rural and semi-urban areas, the DMH laboratory is also training and mentoring staff from hospitals in Latur and Sambhajinagar, to assist in extending advanced infectious disease care beyond urban centres.

The hospital’s centre anchors a growing regional network for advanced infection diagnostics and care across Western India and is supported by satellite hospitals in Latur, Dharashiv, and Sambhajinagar.

“We regularly receive patient samples from across Maharashtra, including Mumbai, Kolhapur, Solapur, Sangli, Beed, Parbhani, and Sambhajinagar — as well as from other states such as Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Karnataka,” Dr Kelkar said. This network addresses a region with a high burden of infectious diseases, including tuberculosis, influenza, Covid-19, pneumonia, and tropical infections.

New Biosensor Could Transform How Viruses are Detected

2026-01-13T11:16:00.001-05:00

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Rapid and reliable virus detection is one of the most critical tools for controlling outbreaks, from seasonal influenza to global pandemics like COVID-19. A new review published in Biocontaminant highlights major advances in a promising class of diagnostic tools known as aptamer-based biosensors, which could help deliver faster, cheaper, and more portable virus testing in clinics, communities, and the field.

The review, led by researchers at Dalian University of Technology, examines how short strands of DNA or RNA called aptamers are being engineered and integrated into next-generation biosensors for viral detection. Aptamers can bind to viruses with high precision, similar to antibodies, but they are easier to manufacture, more stable at high temperatures, and simpler to modify for different sensing platforms.

“Reliable viral detection underpins nearly every public health response, from patient diagnosis to outbreak surveillance,” said corresponding author Jiuxing Li. “Our review shows that aptamer-based biosensors are rapidly closing the gap between laboratory accuracy and real-world usability.”

Traditional viral detection methods, such as cell culture, antigen tests, and PCR, have played essential roles in disease control but come with tradeoffs. Cell culture is slow and requires specialized facilities. Antigen tests can lack sensitivity. PCR is highly accurate but depends on expensive instruments and trained personnel. These limitations can delay detection, particularly in low-resource or high-demand settings.

Aptamer-based biosensors offer a different approach. Aptamers are selected in the laboratory through a process called SELEX, which identifies sequences that bind tightly and specifically to viral targets. Unlike antibodies, aptamers are fully synthetic, allowing precise control over their structure, performance, and cost.

The review outlines recent innovations in selecting aptamers against viral proteins or entire virus particles, including advanced SELEX techniques that improve speed, efficiency, and binding performance. These developments are enabling aptamers to keep pace with rapidly mutating viruses, an ongoing challenge for many diagnostic tools.

Once selected, aptamers can be incorporated into a wide range of biosensors that convert virus binding into a measurable signal. The authors describe electrochemical sensors that generate electrical signals, fluorescent and color-changing assays that can be read visually, and advanced optical platforms such as surface plasmon resonance and surface-enhanced Raman scattering for ultra-sensitive detection.

“These biosensors can be designed for rapid testing outside traditional laboratories,” said co-corresponding author Meng Liu. “Some platforms can deliver results in minutes, require minimal sample preparation, and operate with portable or handheld devices.”

Importantly, the review emphasizes that aptamer-based biosensors are not limited to clinical diagnostics. They also show strong potential for environmental monitoring, food safety, and early warning systems that detect viruses on surfaces, in water, or in the air before outbreaks escalate.

The authors also address remaining challenges, including large-scale validation, standardization, and integration into real-world testing workflows. They note that combining aptamer technology with microfluidics, nanomaterials, and data analysis tools could further enhance performance and reliability.

“Our goal is to provide a clear framework for researchers and developers,” Li said. “By understanding both the strengths and the remaining hurdles, we can accelerate the translation of these biosensors from the lab to practical use.”

As the world continues to prepare for future viral threats, aptamer-based biosensors may become a key part of the global diagnostic toolkit, offering a faster and more flexible way to detect viruses wherever and whenever they emerge.

Reference

Wang F, Meng Q, Huang Z, Ren Y, Zhang Z, et al. 2025. Recent advances in aptamer-based biosensors for viral detection. Biocontaminant 1: e020 doi: 10.48130/biocontam-0025-0018

Abstract

Viral pathogens pose a persistent and devastating threat to global health, as starkly demonstrated by recent pandemics. The cornerstone of an effective response is rapid and reliable viral detection. Yet, conventional methods like viral culture, immunoassays, and nucleic acid amplification tests are hampered by limitations in speed, cost, sensitivity, and portability. Aptamers, single-stranded DNA or RNA oligonucleotides selected in vitro, have emerged as powerful molecular recognition elements that rival antibody affinity while offering superior thermal stability, manufacturability, and design flexibility. These attributes make them ideal for integration into next-generation biosensors. This review systematically summarizes recent advancements in aptamer-based biosensors for viral detection. It provides a comprehensive analysis of key methodologies for selecting virus-specific aptamers and a detailed examination of the various signal transduction mechanisms employed, including electrochemical, fluorescent, colorimetric, Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR), and Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) biosensors. By critically evaluating the integration of high-affinity aptamers with diverse biosensing architectures, this work aims to establish a clear framework for understanding current progress and future directions. The review underscores the potential of these biosensors to deliver the rapid, sensitive, and field-deployable devices urgently needed for pandemic preparedness and effective viral outbreak management.

Urine-Based CRISPR Diagnostic IDs Uropathogens, Resistance Genes in Under 2 Hours

2026-01-06T08:05:00.002-05:00

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A new test is harnessing CRISPR to detect urinary tract infections and identify which antibiotics to treat them.

Researchers have successfully adapted a CRISPR-based diagnostic platform to rapidly identify common urinary tract pathogens and key antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes directly from urine, offering a potential alternative to culture-dependent testing that can delay targeted therapy.

The work, which was presented as abstract P-798 at IDWeek 2025, in Atlanta, expands the platform usage beyond bloodstream infections.

“Antimicrobial resistance is one of the most urgent challenges in global health, responsible for over 1.2 million deaths each year,” said Bhrus Sangruji, the study’s lead author. “The problem is especially severe in low- and middle-income countries where diagnostic resources are limited.

How It Works

The BADLOCK platform—which stands for Bacterial and AMR Detection by SHERLOCK—uses a CRISPR-Cas13a–based SHERLOCK system combined with recombinase polymerase amplification in a one-pot, isothermal reaction. In its original form, the platform was designed for rapid detection of pathogens and resistance genes from positive blood cultures.

“Building on BADLOCK’s success, this study aimed to extend the platform to urinary tract infections, evaluating whether it could directly detect bacteria and antimicrobial resistant markers in urine,” Sangruji said. The study was completed as Sangruji’s senior thesis at Tufts University, in Boston, building on his prior work as a visiting undergraduate researcher at the Broad Institute.

In order to simulate clinical conditions, investigators spiked pooled human urine with clinically relevant concentrations of common uropathogens, including Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter cloacae, Citrobacter freundii, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, as well as isolates carrying resistance determinants such as CTX-M-15, KPC-2, NDM-1, and OXA-48. Multiple optimization strategies were evaluated, including increased template volume, reagent adjustments, and lysis methods.

“After testing several optimization strategies to refine the assay for urine-based detection, we found the platform could successfully identify key uropathogens and AMR genes at clinically relevant levels,” Sangruji said. Concentrating samples by centrifugation followed by heat lysis produced the most consistent performance improvements.

High Accuracy Rating

Using the optimized workflow, the BADLOCK panel achieved 98.8% accuracy for bacterial species identification and 96.2% accuracy for AMR gene detection. All discordant results were resolved on repeat testing, and specificity remained high across targets. Importantly, the full diagnostic process produced actionable results within approximately 1.5 hours.

“With these refinements, detection accuracy reached nearly 99% for bacterial species and 96% for resistance,” Sangruji said.

“Low costs and flexible readouts make [the platform] suitable for both hospital laboratories and decentralized resource-limited clinics,” Sangruji said. “This approach supports faster, more targeted treatment decisions for clinicians … [and] is an important step towards reducing unnecessary antibiotic use and slowing the global threat of resistance.”