RFID biosensors for detecting bacteria and fungi causing hospital infections

• Grant number: 17/22645-4
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Innovative Research in Small Business - PIPE
• Start date: October 01, 2018
• End date: June 30, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Interdisciplinary Subjects
• Principal Investigator: Gabriela Byzynski Soares
• Grantee: Gabriela Byzynski Soares
• Company: Nanochemtech Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento em Biomateriais Ltda
• CNAE: Pesquisa e desenvolvimento experimental em ciências físicas e naturais ; Atividades de atendimento hospitalar ; Atividades de serviços de complementação diagnóstica e terapêutica
• City: São José do Rio Preto
• Associated research grant(s): 19/07589-6 - RFID biosensors for in-hospital detection of infectious bacteria and fungi, AP.PIPE
• Associated scholarship(s): 18/19488-7 - RFID biosensors for detecting bacteria and fungi causing hospital infections, BP.PIPE

Abstract

A major national problem for collective health is hospital infections, and factors such as diagnostic deficiency and the less effective therapies use´s may aggravate the hospital infections rate. Hospital infections result in an increase in the patient's hospitalization time and also in the mortality rate, since the use of antibiotics without prior efficacy and selectivity for infection is constant. The use of antibiograms to determine which pathogen is causing the infection takes a long time, from five to fifteen days, impairing medical treatment and promoting the use of broad spectrum antibiotics and antifungals indiscriminately. Rapid and adequate detection of pathogens is the essential objective of diagnosing diseases. Thus, this PIPE project aims to identify the feasibility of producing a biosensor supported on RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) deposited in plastic support, with the objective of fast and cheap detection of the main infectious agents capable of generating frames of hospital contamination. The biosensors will be built on commercial RFID tags by the deposition of a reduced graphene oxide (rGO) film and aptamers as bio-receptors. With the use of rGO film in the biosensor, it is aimed to obtain a more biocompatible device, facilitating the deposition on the rGO film of the aptamer, in addition to improvements in the electrical signal of the biosensor. The aptamer as a bio-receptor enables the use of the biosensor in diverse environmental conditions, such as temperature and humidity changes. In addition, the biosensor will be selective for each pathogen. The rGO film as well as the aptamer will be deposited by spray in a controlled environment. Remote reading facilitates the identification of possible contaminations, giving prompt information to medical teams for preventive action and treatment. It is intended to use this biosensor in forms of disposable reagent strips and therefore, it will be supported under commercial thick plastic films. Thus, the biosensor of rGO with aptamers deposited on RFID tags can help in the prior detection of pathogenic microorganisms causing nosocomial infections, resulting in adjustable, fast and better treatment conditions for each patient. (AU)

Filed patent(s) as a result of this research project