EU Researchers Awarded €3M to Develop POC Molecular Tests
November 7, 2019The European Commission has awarded a team of researchers €3 million ($3.3 million) to develop diagnostic tools for infectious disease testing.
The project, called “Towards an instrument-free future of molecular diagnostics at the point-of-care,” has been funded through the EC’s Horizon 2020 program. It is set to commence in January 2020 and run through the end of 2022. Investigators at the Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH), a Greek research institute, are coordinating the effort.
The researchers aim to create diagnostic tools for genetic amplification based on ligases, polymerases, and restriction enzymes that can operate at ambient temperatures, combined with quantitative smartphone colorimetric or UV detection. They will also demonstrate their approach by testing human blood and swab samples for influenza and HIV, as well as plant samples for the pathogen Xylella fastidiosa.a Greek research institute, are coordinating the effort.