The Philippines is seeking to develop a “cost-effective lab-on-a-chip device” that will be used to detect chikungunya, dengue, Zika, and Japanese encephalitis, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said.
DOST Undersecretary for Research and Development Dr. Rowena Cristina L. Guevara said the agency is supporting the development of such device to strengthen the country’s healthcare system.
“DOST supports a project that aims to develop a cost-effective lab-on-a-chip device that will be able to diagnose chikungunya, dengue, Zika, and Japanese encephalitis,” she said in an interview with the Manila Bulletin.
She said the device will be deployable to areas in the country with limited access to medical equipment.
Guevara said the DOST-funded project is “expected to end by the first quarter of 2022 and will then proceed with clinical evaluation afterwards.”
Meanwhile, she also bared that the DOST also supported a study that will look into aptamers for multiple antigens of Leptospira species.
The project is implemented by the team of Dr. Windell Rivera of the University of the Philippines (UP)- Diliman.
“Selected aptamers will be applied as biorecognition molecules in a diagnostic platform,” Guevara said.
“This tool for the direct and early detection of Leptospira can help in the surveillance and control of cases of leptospirosis in the country.”
Guevara had disclosed that two local studies on the development of diagnostic kits for the detection of human immunodeficiency virus or HIV are “ongoing” and are expected to be completed by next year.