A Method for Increasing Sensitivity in an Electronic Biosensor for Onchocerciasis Serosurvelliance
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Das, Nabojeet Kumar
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Abstract
Knowledge of whether an individual is infected with a disease is critical in identifying hotspots and preventing
further spread [1]. This is particularly important for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). NTDs are parasitic and bacterial
diseases which disproportionately affect those in resource-poor settings [2]. Onchocerciasis (oncho) is an endemic NTD in
Sub-Saharan Africa spread by a parasitic worm Onchocerca volvulus through a blackfly. This NTD is known to cause blindness,
with 18 million people affected and 270,000 of these being blinded as a result of oncho infection [3]. Previously we created a
novel diagnostic technique for Covid-19 antibodies in which an immunoassay like reaction is completed on a micro interdigitated electrode (µIDE) [4]. The reaction produces a deposition of silver in proportion to the amount of analyte
present [4]. The conductivity of the metal formed in the wells was done on dry wells with a low cost handheld multimeter.
The applications of this tool thus far have been successful in detecting Covid-19 and Onchocerciasis (oncho) antibodies in dry
phase [4]. However, in samples with low analyte, a visible silver metallization is produced, but may not be sufficient to achieve
a closed state for the circuit to be measurable in the dry phase. This project seeks to optimize this technique to increase
sensitivity by optimizing the frequency range for the tool and determining whether the addition of a conductive buffer to the
wells would allow our technique to differentiate between a control and a sample with a low metallization (low analyte) concentration.
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Undergraduate Research Option Thesis