Software speeds up creation of diagnostic tests

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Software that accelerates the process of creating new diagnostic tests could help combat future pandemics, claim bioengineers and chemists in Scotland and China.  

diagnostic tests
Image by skeeze on Pixabay

The team has developed a system which suggests new reaction pathways to accelerate the design and development of new diagnostic assays.

The system - freely available for researchers to investigate, adapt and use - can also be used to identify the early stages of non-infectious diseases like cancer.

In a new paper published in Nature Communications, researchers from Glasgow University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China describe how they developed and demonstrated the system’s effectiveness.

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They began by developing reaction graphs – representations of the biomechanical processes which enable rapid diagnostic tests including cross priming amplification (CPA) and loop-mediated DNA amplification (LAMP).

Unlike PCR tests, which require access to labs and trained staff, isothermal tests like LAMP can offer quick, accurate results by creating interactions between chemicals and the DNA strands contained in patient samples and delivering rapid results at the point of care.

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