A novel aptamer-based enzymatic assay for the diagnosis of Malaria

Abstract

Malaria causes nearly 1 million annual fatalities in lesser developed regions in South East Asia and Africa. Symptoms of malaria are unspecific (fever, vomitting, headache etc.) meaning without laboratory equipment reliable diagnosis is problematic. Point-of-care antibody-based dipsticks are available on the market but the cost and instability of antibodies in heat and humidity limits their widespread use. Aptamers are short oligonucleotide sequences which selectively bind their targets and present as stable and affordable alternatives to antibodies in point-of-care tests. Aptamers against the malaria antigen Plasmodium falciparum lactate dehydrogenase (pLDH) have been ...