Rapid Zika Test Possible For 2018

From WLRN
November 29th, 2017

Hospitals and health departments could have a new tool in 2018 to detect Zika – a test that is cheap, portable and fast.

The test involves a drop of blood, can get results in 20 minutes and doesn’t require blood be sent out to a lab. It was developed by a team of University of Central Florida researchers led by Qun Treen Huo.

Huo said the test is ideal for rural and low-income areas because it’s cheap and portable.

“We really want to put this test for rural area that don’t have access to expensive lab facility,” Huo says. “It’s a very simple test, does a quick test, our device is portable as well.”

Nano Discovery, a spinoff biotech company out of the University of Central Florida, said the test involves gold nanoparticles that are used to detect the Zika virus in a few drops of blood. The company also manufactures the machines that do the test.