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Paper-based test could diagnose hepatitis B and assess male fertility at low cost

Date:
October 28, 2015
Source:
American Chemical Society
Summary:
Scientists have developed a new paper device that analyzes DNA and could rapidly and inexpensively assess disparate conditions including hepatitis B and male infertility, which together affect millions of people around the world. The test could be of particular help diagnosing people in low-income areas.
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Scientists have developed a new paper device that analyzes DNA and could rapidly and inexpensively assess disparate conditions including hepatitis B and male infertility, which together affect millions of people around the world. The test, reported in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, could be of particular help diagnosing people in low-income areas.

DNA analysis has become a valuable tool in forensic science, genetics and disease diagnosis. But carrying out such analyses requires expensive lab equipment, making its application out of reach for many people who live in resource-limited places. Advances in nanomaterials, however, could make analysis of genetic material possible at a much lower cost. David Sinton and colleagues wanted to see if they could come up with a new paper device with such nanomaterials to test DNA without the use of high-tech facilities.

The researchers made a paper-based diagnostic test out of materials that cost less than $1 per device. After only a 10-minute run, the device could detect the hepatitis B virus in blood serum at a level low enough to flag an early-stage acute infection, which is critical to help prevent its spread. It also could determine the DNA integrity of sperm -- a predictor of fertility -- from semen samples as accurately as current clinical methods.


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Materials provided by American Chemical Society. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Max M. Gong, Reza Nosrati, Maria C. San Gabriel, Armand Zini, David Sinton. Direct DNA Analysis with Paper-Based Ion Concentration Polarization. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2015; 151020073906006 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.5b08523

Cite This Page:

American Chemical Society. "Paper-based test could diagnose hepatitis B and assess male fertility at low cost." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 28 October 2015. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/10/151028124005.htm>.
American Chemical Society. (2015, October 28). Paper-based test could diagnose hepatitis B and assess male fertility at low cost. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 6, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/10/151028124005.htm
American Chemical Society. "Paper-based test could diagnose hepatitis B and assess male fertility at low cost." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/10/151028124005.htm (accessed October 6, 2024).

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