UC designs home test for influenza

University of Cincinnati researchers are working on new technology that can concentrate a sample of saliva to test for viruses at home without waiting for third-party lab results.

Amy Drexelius, a graduate student in UC’s College of Engineering and Applied Science, designed new home testing kits in UC’s Novel Device Lab and put them to the test to detect influenza A.

A virus from respiratory diseases like influenza is not as concentrated in saliva as in the nasal passages. So researchers have to concentrate a sample before testing it. Researchers found the device designed by UC was able to concentrate the saliva sample by 30 times with potential for 100 or more.

The study was published in the journal Biomicrofluidics.

“Coronavirus has put a big spotlight on point-of-care diagnostics,” Drexelius said. “We’re trying to make preconcentration of the sample quicker and easier so testing is possible outside a lab.”

One drawback researchers identified was the time required to concentrate a sample — 30 minutes in initial results — which is likely too slow for practical commercial use.

“If you don’t have a device that works in minutes, no patient or doctor will buy it,” Drexelius said.

Since the experiment, UC’s team has developed the ability to concentrate samples in less than a minute. The study demonstrated the exciting potential for these new home testing kits, she said.

“One of our goals with this preconcentration technology was to take the diagnostics out of the lab and get them into the home,” she said.

UC partnered with UES, Inc. and the Human Performance Wing of the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

Featured image at top: UC graduate student Amy Drexelius holds up two home tests for influenza. Photo/Joseph Fuqua II/UC Creative + Brand