Towards the development of a point-of-care detection system for acute respiratory infections

肺炎仍然是全世界5岁以下儿童死亡的主要原因，估计每年有140万儿童死亡。为了改善临床结果，需要尽快开始适当的治疗(S)。因此，能够及时作出明确诊断是至关重要的。利用微波辅助样品制备技术，该项目将专注于分离与儿童肺炎相关的病原体和宿主生物标记物。将针对这些目标标记设计分子探测器，以便与IDTH内正在开发的一些最先进的生物传感系统相结合。该项目将涉及：与急性呼吸道感染相关的病原体和宿主生物标记物的选择；识别选定标记物的分子探测器的设计；将探测器固定在金属表面，以便集成到生物传感系统中

Pneumonia remains the leading cause of death in children under 5 worldwide, killing an estimated 1.4 million children each year. In order to improve clinical outcomes, appropriate treatment(s) need to be started as soon as possible. It is therefore essential that a definitive diagnosis can be made in a timely manner. Using microwave-assisted sample-preparation techniques, this project will focus on isolating both pathogen and host biomarkers associated with childhood pneumonia. Molecular probes will be designed against these target markers for integration with a number of state-of-the-art biosensing systems under development within the IDTH. The project will involve: Selection of pathogen and host biomarkers associated with acute respiratory infectionsDesign of molecular probes that recognise selected markersImmobilisation of probes to metal surfaces for integration within a biosensing system