# Point-of-care detection of TB and NTM pathogens with Fluorescent Deoxyribozyme Sensors and 3D-printed, battery powered device.

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA · 2021 · $146,590

## Abstract

Project Summary
Tuberculosis (TB), an infectious disease caused by species of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC),
remains one of the major public health problems worldwide, with ~10 million new cases and about ~1.5 million
deaths each year. With ~70,000 new cases reported in 2017, Brazil remains among the 22 high-burden countries
that account for >80% of all TB cases worldwide. Non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are an emerging group
of related opportunistic pathogens that cause TB-like pulmonary infections, particularly in patients with underlying
comorbidities such as HIV or cystic fibrosis. NTM infections are notoriously refractory to treatment, with <50%
cure rates for some species despite year-long treatment regimens with antibiotic cocktails of oral and injectable
drugs. This situation is further exacerbated by HIV co-infection which promotes disease progression and
complicates diagnosis of TB and NTM pulmonary infections. An estimated 3.5 million cases of TB go undetected
each year, largely due to the lack of affordable, effective point-of-care diagnostics for TB/NTM infection. As a
result, infected patients develop more severe disease and continue to transmit these pathogens. The frequent
misdiagnosis of NTM infections as TB by the commonly used smear microscopy method delays appropriate
treatment which can result in worse clinical outcomes. Thus, point-of-care (POC) tests are urgently needed to
provide physicians with actionable data required to effectively treat patients with these debilitating chronic
diseases. The goal of this project is to take advantage of recent advancements in DNA nanotechnology,
molecular sensors, and 3D-printing to significantly improve POC diagnostics capability for TB and NTM. Our
platform combines the speed and sensitivity of RPA isothermal amplification, the specificity of binary
deoxyribozyme (BiDz) sensors, and economy and portability of a 3D-printed assay device. We will optimize
multi-color multiplex sensor assays for specific detection of TB and NTM pathogens from sputum samples. A
cheap, portable battery-powered device for assay incubation and fluorescent detection built using 3D-printing
technology will be tested. Finally, “real-world” validation of this diagnostic assay will be conducted in Brazil on
samples from HIV+ and HIV- cohorts. If successful, this flexible technology could be exploited to devise POC
diagnostic assay for other infectious diseases. An added outcome of this international collaboration will be
enhancement of the infectious disease research capacity and infrastructure in Brazil.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10087482
- **Project number:** 5R01AI149468-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA
- **Principal Investigator:** Yulia Gerasimova
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $146,590
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-01-22 → 2023-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10087482

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10087482, Point-of-care detection of TB and NTM pathogens with Fluorescent Deoxyribozyme Sensors and 3D-printed, battery powered device. (5R01AI149468-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10087482. Licensed CC0.

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