Investigating laser patterned diagnostic assays for rapid disease detection

The aim of this PhD project is to develop point-of-care tests for use as rapid diagnostics. They are not only for use as diagnostics in under-resourced developing countries but will also assist in tackling the global challenge of anti-microbial resistance. The project investigates the use of a paper-based lateral flow platform and a laser patterning techniques to create tests for detection of novel disease biomarkers. In addition to exploring the potential usefulness of such tests for simultaneous detection of multiple biomarkers, the tests developed will have capabilities to measure the markers semi-quantitatively, enhancing the clinical usefulness of such tests. The development work will include evaluating the tests diagnostic capabilities with patient samples thereby creating a test that could be available for commercialisation. A range of biomarkers will be investigated for multiple disease indications; however, the main focus will be to create a novel test for the diagnosis of Tuberculosis.detection