Generation of DNA aptamers to detect and differentiate between latent and active tuberculosis

结核病(TB)是世界范围内一种传染病导致死亡的主要原因，三分之一的人类已经感染了结核分枝杆菌(Mtb)，无论是活动性的还是潜伏性的，这是一个巨大的疾病储备库。目前结核病的特点是：在需要时缺乏有效的诊断方法，出现越来越多的多药耐药菌株，治疗覆盖面无效，缺乏通用疫苗。该项目将通过开发新的识别分子-DNA适配子-来改进诊断提供，这种识别分子与结核分枝杆菌膜上独特的生物标记物结合，区分活动性和潜伏性结核病感染。

Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of mortality from an infectious disease worldwide, with one third of humans already infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), either in the active or latent form, representing a huge reservoir of disease. The current landscape of TB is characterised by; a lack of efficient diagnostic methods at the Point-of-Need, increasing appearance of multidrug resistant strains, ineffective therapeutic coverage and the lack of a universal vaccine. This project will improve diagnostic provision by developing novel recognition molecules - DNA-aptamers - that bind to unique biomarkers in the Mtb membrane, differentiating between active and latent TB infections.