Descripción del proyecto
Tecnología innovadora para la detección rápida y fiable de patógenos
La amenaza de las enfermedades infecciosas y las pandemias recientes ha puesto de manifiesto la urgente necesidad de contar con herramientas de detección de patógenos novedosas, rápidas, baratas, sencillas y fiables. El proyecto ECLIPSE, financiado con fondos europeos, se propone desarrollar una nueva plataforma tecnológica para la detección de patógenos. Se utilizará un método de sándwich de fagos para la detección del patógeno completo y la técnica de hibridación cooperativa de superficie para la detección de ácidos nucleicos microbianos y virales. Ambos, combinados con la electroquimioluminiscencia, otorgarán a la nueva tecnología alta afinidad, selectividad y fiabilidad. El objetivo es probar la viabilidad y la adaptabilidad de la plataforma de detección en los casos de prueba del coronavirus del síndrome respiratorio agudo grave 2, la bacteria «Pseudomonas» y el parásito protozoario «Leishmania». El diseño de la plataforma permite una rápida adaptación para la detección de otros patógenos y agentes pandémicos (futuros o próximos).
Objetivo
"Infectious diseases are a threat to mankind since their appearance in human history. Despite the advances in science and technologies, such threats are still recurrent, as recently shown by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 – 2021, which has revealed the urgent need for novel tools for pathogen detection that would be at the same time reliable, fast, cheap, portable and simple. The goal of ECLIPSE is to address this need, with a new platform exploiting innovative ultrasensitive protocols for the detection of pathogens. ECLIPSE builds on the combination of interdisciplinary elements to facilitate the transfer to industry, i.e. (i) ElectroChemiLuminescence (ECL) as a very sensitive transduction mechanism for realizing simple, portable and cheap devices, (ii) bio-, nano-, and supramolecular-based signal amplification structures for increasing the sensitivity, and (iii) two recognition strategies to afford high affinity and selectivity, thus leading to high reliability: the Phage-Sandwich technology for the whole pathogen, and the Surface Cooperative Hybridization technology for microbial and viral nucleic acid. We will demonstrate the feasibility and adaptability of the ECLIPSE platform with three test cases: a virus (SARS-CoV-2), a bacterium (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and a protozoan parasite (Leishmania infantum). The platform is designed to be applied to many other infectious agents, making it a ""ready for the next pandemic” technology. ECLIPSE is expected to become a game-changer in European countries, where it could be a cornerstone for fast testing and reliable tracking of infections, and in developing countries that will benefit from a cheap and simple approach to detect the many infectious diseases that affect millions of people every year. The project results will be validated and demonstrated at partners’ premisses."
Ámbito científico
Not validated
Not validated
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectronic engineeringsensorsbiosensors
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrybiomoleculesnucleic acids
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiologyvirology
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencespublic healthepidemiologypandemics
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencesinfectious diseasesRNA virusescoronaviruses
Palabras clave
Programa(s)
Convocatoria de propuestas
HORIZON-EIC-2021-PATHFINDEROPEN-01
Consulte otros proyectos de esta convocatoriaRégimen de financiación
HORIZON-EIC - HORIZON EIC GrantsCoordinador
40126 Bologna
Italia