Optical sensing platform for real-time detection of zoonotic pathogens

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Around 60% of all pathogens infecting humans are shared with non-human vertebrates (i.e. are zoonoses) and, as exemplified by the current COVID pandemic, the vast majority of new and emerging infectious diseases (EID) of humans are zoonotic in origin. Although EID tend to grab the headlines, endemic zoonoses are probably the greatest burden on human health and livelihoods globally, not just in low and middle-income countries but also in the UK, where, for example, zoonotic campylobacteriosis is the most common gastrointestinal infection. Surveillance and investigation of outbreaks of zoonotic disease are often hampered by the inability to undertake real-time diagnostics either in the living host, in meat or other food products during processing and retail.This proposal will address the issue of inability to undertake real-time diagnostics by developing a novel, transformative technology based on functionalised optical fibre sensing platform, as a means of identifying zoonotic pathogens in appropriate tissues, all of which could be scalable to routine use. The optical fibre sensor is highly versatile, it is the width of a human hair and can be easily incorporated into a needle probe for easy, rapid and low cost use in the field. By coating the optical fibre with a sensitive material, the light transmitted from one end of the fibre to the other will be affected by the amount of pathogen present. Changing the coating on the fibre enables different pathogens to be detected.The proposed sensing platform will have a significant positive impact on global scientific, and health and well-being landscapes. Industries and healthcare organisations will be the immediate beneficiaries of campylobacteriosis and coxiellosis testing, which is currently both slow and expensive, and rolling out this technology in the UK would give UK food industries a huge trade advantage internationally. The potential to adapt the technology to other diseases will lead to even greater impact.