Objective
The project aims at diagnosing oral and respiratory tract infections (RTIs) using a fully integrated, automated and user-friendly platform for physicians’ offices, schools, elderly care units, community settings, etc. Oral diseases (periodontitis, caries) will be detected via multiplexed, quantitative analysis of salivary markers (bacterial DNA and host response proteins) for early prevention and personalized monitoring. RTIs (e.g. tonsillitis, pharyngitis, rhinitis, sinusitis) will be diagnosed by means of DNA/RNA differentiation so as to identify their bacterial vs viral nature. Together with antibiotic resistance screening on the same platform, a more efficient treatment management is expected at the point-of-care. High impact is expected on socioeconomic level too, as the healthcare system is expected to benefit from: less crowded hospitals (patients find equally efficient chair-side diagnosis); less budget spent on excessive antibiotics and progressed-stage disease treatments; less insurance costs for oral diseases, which are largely age-related. At the heart of DIAGORAS lies a centrifugal microfluidic platform (LabDisk and associated reader) integrating all components and assays for a fully-automated analysis: interface of the collection tube with the disposable disc; on-disc sample preparation (nucleic acid extraction and purification with pre-stored buffers); amplification & detection (rapid PCR); protein isolation and detection (bead-based multiplexed immunoassays); microarray-based antibiotic screening. Low-cost disposable fabrication (microthermoforming of polymer foils) will render the platform batch-producible and affordable to end users. The entire setup will be validated at clinical settings and compared with gold standards (e.g. tissue extraction and culture methods). The modular nature of the platform, the non-invasive sampling, the rapid and multiplexed molecular-based detection, and the sample-to-answer analysis are DIAGORAS innovative features.
Fields of science
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrybiomoleculesnucleic acids
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencesinfectious diseases
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacypharmaceutical drugsantibiotics
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicineodontologyperiodontics
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacydrug resistanceantibiotic resistance
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
RIA - Research and Innovation action
Coordinator
78052 Villingen Schwenning
Germany
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Participants (10)
1210 Wien
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8006 Zurich
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3015 GD Rotterdam
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07549 Gera
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
Participation ended
6161 RD Geleen
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
CR5 2NR Coulsdon Surrey
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
621 00 Brno
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
Participation ended
75008 Paris
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
17177 Stockholm
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6417 CB Heerlen
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