Researchers at the University of Washington have developed a prototype malaria test printed on a disposable Mylar card that could easily slip into your wallet and still work when you took it out, even months later. The cards are a critical step in a long-term project funded by The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's Grand Challenges in Global Health Initiative to develop affordable, easy-to-use diagnostic tools for the developing world. The malaria cards contain reagents that would normally require refrigeration, but the researchers figured out a way to stabilize them in dry form by mixing them with sugar.
Results showed that malaria antibodies dried in sugar matrices retained 80 percent to 96 percent of their activity after 60 days of storage at elevated temperatures. The malaria-test card is being developed as part of an automated diagnostic system informally called the DxBox, which consists of a portable, fully automatic reader that will process the card-based disposable tests. The cards rely on microfluidics, the manipulation of liquids at very small scales. Thin channels crisscross the Mylar sheets, and syringes are used to pump different liquids for the tests through the channels. The UW technology could be adapted to include other diseases in the future.
