Open Real-Time Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (RT-NAAT)

Megan Zimroth

Open Real-Time Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (RT-NAAT)

Learning Planet Institute

AWARD AMOUNT

4568 USD

Map loading…

The Learning Planet Institute is a nonprofit institution that creates research and educational programmes for all ages (lifelong learning) based on interdisciplinary, diversity and initiative. 

The “Real-Time Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (RT-NAAT)” project brought experts from across the world to develop a real-time nucleic acid amplification test (RT-NAAT) for infectious disease diagnosis for human health and agriculture; water purity testing; teaching and research purposes; GMO detection or personal health for home-testing. 

Phase 1 Project

The Phase 1 project included researchers and collaborators from diverse geographical backgrounds, professional expertise and socioeconomic origins, either at the development stage or at the end-user level in the next phases.

  • The pre-event phase consisted of remote collaboration to review the designs of various existing devices that will be used during the residency and order necessary raw materials for rapid prototyping. The devices featured were Chili qLAMP, QCamProto and Open qLAMP.
  • The event phase saw international collaborators fly into Paris for the ten-day residency. The residents used the first half of the residency time to experiment, review, and construct functional prototypes using technologies like digital manufacturing and open-source prototyping electronics. In the second half of the residency, the final prototype was tested using the wet lab resources for its performance like temperature stability, fluorescence signal sensitivity and robustness. 
  • The post-event phase included producing a detailed device design, necessary assembly and testing protocols with photos and video demonstration were documented for open use. 

The residency was a success and included meeting other GOSH members developing RT-NAAT devices to improve their projects and learn about the open-source community. After comparing the ability of the three prototypes (webcam qLAMP, chili qLAMP and open qLAMP) to amplify 200 SARS-CoV-2 inactivated viral units, documentation was uploaded to Gitlab. 

Each prototype was found to have its pros and cons, which were documented via the Hackereria wiki. While each device ranges according to their goals of accessibility and affordability, they all prove the viability of an open-source solution to quantitative real-time DNA amplification. The RT-NAAT devices developed during this project provide a robust alternative with a significantly lower price (€30-€80 to produce / €200-€400 for the assembled device). 

The success of this first round of the RT-NAAT project allowed the project team to:

  • Reverse engineer commercial machines to study the technologies used for RT-NAAT, acquiring knowledge about these devices’ state of the art.
  • Design three functional prototypes of open-source solutions for RT-NAAT.
  • Benchmark the different nucleic acid detection prototypes, studying each design’s pros and cons.
  • Discuss and plan how to best implement a decentralized production network of diagnostic hardware and wetware.
  • Discuss how to bring this technology to an impactful application, including the debate on new targets and how to perform a well-designed user discovery process.

The Open qLAMP device was featured in Make Magazine.

Phase 2 Project

The first round of funding has enabled development of three functional prototypes that performed well in laboratory tests. For the next step, they focused on medium-scale production and the applicability of the developed equipment in a real-world scenario. 

The project team adapted the prototype to standard industry manufacturing techniques (mould extrusion, large-scale PCB assembly etc) together with a professional expert panel in large-scale manufacturing (SeeedStudio, Shenzhen; Tsinghua University, Shenzhen Campus). They worked together during residencies with local partners (Mboalab, Cameroon; HivebioLab, Ghana; Lifepatch, Indonesia) to test the system under real situations. 

The system was also tested for targets like SARS-CoV-2 in clinical samples (using the above-mentioned Corona Detective), typhoid detection (CRISPR-TyphoidDx, Open Bioeconomy Lab) and many more.

The team is now drafting a scientific paper describing Open qLAMP.

Reference #: CDF-103

Key Outputs

Hardware Documentation

Documentation

Event Media