The often-forgotten hurdle to the eradication of the tuberculosis epidemic is the inefficiencies point-of-care diagnostics. Despite the recent development of sensitive diagnostics methods for Mtb infection, sputum smear microscopy remains the most widespread point-of-care diagnostics method. This almost centennial method lacks sensitivity, but has remained employed due to its low monetary and institutional costs.
The lack of sensitivity is due to limits on the amount of sample that can be analyzed at once, therefore requiring a high bacterial load to have a positive test.
In the Sacchettini lab, we are developing a method that would enhance the current testing method by specifically concentrating mycobacteria in a small volume making use of as much of the sample as possible, without increasing the number of field of views to be analyzed. To achieve this, we are making use of naturally occurring proteins that have, through years of evolution, gained the ability to specifically bind to mycobacteria.