Point-of-Care Molecular Test for Zika Infection

Abstract

The recent outbreak of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection has led to a serious threat to public health. Rapid and sensitive diagnostics for ZIKV infection are crucial because Zika infection is usually mild and often asymptomatic, but may have serious consequences to infants born to infected mothers. We report on a simple, sensitive, inexpensive, point-of-care (POC) diagnostic technology for rapid detection of ZIKV in saliva. We use a chemically heated cup for isothermal amplification without a need for electrical power. The detection results can be directly read out by eye.

Figure 1

(A) Photograph of integrated microfluidic cassette for point of care molecular diagnostics of ZIKV. (B) Photograph of the chemically heated cup for on-chip isothermal amplification. (C) Photograph of the isothermal amplification reactors after 40 min incubation in the chemically heated cup. Leuco crystal violet dye is used as an amplification indicator. Amplification reactors 1, 2, 3, and 4 contain 0, 5, 50, and 500 PFU of ZIKV in saliva sample.