META Group supports the design of a nanobiotechnological platform that will make pathogens detection more economical, faster, and efficient.
“The fight between humanity and viruses is eternal,” says Maria Neira in the preface of the book Viral. She is the Director of Public Health and Environment at the World Health Organization. There is no doubt that viruses have infiltrated our lives and we are still learning to live with them.
The recent appearance of the SARS-CoV-2 has shown the urgent need for novel tools in terms of pathogen detection. This is because, despite all the previous scientific and technological advances, we were not prepared for such a pandemic.
That’s why META Group has joined ECLIPSE. It is a research initiative that will design and develop a nanobiotechnological platform to improve the cost, simplicity, reliability, and sensitivity of pathogen detection. ECLIPSE is expected to represent a breakthrough advancement in the fight against communicable diseases.
Ready for the next pandemic
ECLIPSE will be a particular combination of interdisciplinary elements, such as electrochemiluminescence, signal amplification, and the use of recognition elements. In this way, this technology doesn’t intend just to detect illnesses like SARS-CoV-2,. It will detect also others like the Leishmania protozoan parasite, which causes Leishmaniasis. And the Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacterium, which can cause several lung infections.
The platform is also designed to be applied to many other infectious agents, making it a technology that is “ready for the next pandemic”. Another advantage of ECLIPSE is the detection process. It will be faster than PCR-techniques thanks to a portable device, as the overall waiting time will be around 30 minutes.
Through ECLIPSE, the research team contributes to what could become a game-changer technology in European countries. Since it is expected to be a cornerstone for fast, cheap, selective, and ultrasensitive tracking of infections that affect millions of people every year.
The University of Bologna coordinates the project for a duration of 42 months, with META Group as the exploitation partner. The project consortium includes Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research, Karlsruhe Institute for Technology, University of Messina, University of Milan, Personal Genomics SRL, Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM).
Visit the ECLIPSE website and learn more about META Group’s research valorisation solutions.
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