Building a prototype PCR reaction vessel for the direct detection of pathogens from blood

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BGR has developed a method for detecting viral pathogens directly from crude samples, removing the requirement for complex lab facilities or expert use. The technique was originally developed in the wake of the 2015 Ebola outbreak to establish if it is possible to perform laboratory standard molecular diagnostics in resource poor environments. The proposal here is to adapt the BGR technology from the detection of viral haemorrhagic fevers to diseases such as HIV that have lower viral loads but impact far higher numbers of individuals. In this project BGR will build a new reaction vessel for performing its in tube detection that enables the use of greater volumes of blood and hence increase the sensitivity. The reagents that BGR have developed are capable of detecting the viral RNA in the presence of high levels of blood, as much as 20% to date, and yet at these high percentages the optical data used to determine the presence of the targets are inhibited. The goal of this work is to create late stage prototype vessels that, in combination with evolved reagents, remove the blood from the optical light path and therefore increase the sensitivity of the approach and greatly increase the number of diseases the approach will be appropriate for. As an example, an Ebola patient may have a million viruses per millilitre of blood whereas a patient with hepatitis C will have fifty thousand and a HIV patient on drugs around ten thousand. The target is to increase the sensitivity to 3000/ml, the WHO has identified 5000/ml as being suited to low-cost diagnostics in resource poor regions for the detection of disease such as Hepatitis and HIV. The BGR approach takes less than fifty minutes, requires no laboratory facilities or training and is low cost simply because each test on consists of a plastic tube and a freeze-dried enzyme. Therefore, the improved reaction vessel, reagents and instrument would greatly increase the health impact of this innovation and the commercial opportunities for the company. The assays can then be used to assist in outbreak situations of blood borne diseases. It is also envisaged that the new vessel developed for this project could make possible the use of other sample types such as swabs for respiratory disease. BGR can then determine how sensitive the new assays are using a model virus and move towards commercialisation of appropriate tests.