Designing an aptamer mediated diagnosis kit for malaria

Abstract

Malaria is one of the world's deadliest diseases, with India being a prominent hotspot for malaria. According to WHO, 77% of the cases are reported from Southeast Asia. Malaria therapy must begin with an accurate and timely diagnosis. However, expensive precise detection methods and insufficient materials and personnel are the most challenging barriers to eradicating malaria. Malaria diagnosis methods currently available are microscopy-based and nucleic acid amplification-based, which require a laboratory and trained individuals. Antibody-based rapid diagnosis kits are a popular method nowadays due to their rapid diagnosis and the non-requirement of trained individuals. These RDTs are getting highly unreliable due to the emergence of novel plasmodium mutants, which go unrecognized by antibody-based assays. My thesis revolves around developing an accurate, specific sensitive and cost-effective RDT compared to current malaria RDTs. The RDT Kit is based on Aptamer detection of plasmodial proteins. Aptamers are single stretches of oligonucleotides that bind to the target molecule with high specificity. They are often referred to as molecular recognition elements and have gained considerable attention in recent years for their potential applications in medical diagnosis, therapeutics, and biosensors. The detection method relies on a colour change reaction that gives accurate results time-efficiently without needing trained personnel.