Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

2017

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Asghar, Waseem

Abstract

The majority of HIV prevalence is found in Sub-Saharan Africa with 36.9 mil- lion living with HIV/AIDS. The cultural implications such as patient non-compliance or denial of available routine medical care can potentially cause limitations on the ef- fectiveness of detecting such virulent pathogens and manage chronic disease. The lack of access to healthcare and further socioeconomic impacts hinder the ability to ade- quately diagnose and treat infection in resource-limited settings. Intervention through diagnosis and treatment helps prevent the spread of transmission, where pre-exposure prophylaxis or active disease prevention measures are not readily available. The cur- rent gold standard for HIV detection is by molecular detection; Reverse-Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction is widely used that employs cycles of temperature condi- tions that require a thermal cycling platform and typically laboratory space for RNA extraction separate from RT-PCR space required. Serological detection can be ad- vantageous for surveillance and screening, Lateral Flow Assays and Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) can detect a viral protein (antigen) or antibodies. The ELISA can require at least 12 hours of assay preparation and takes a diagnostic laboratory many resources to run. There is need to develop Point-of-Care (POC) testing that can potentially be used for decentralized testing that can leverage ex- isting technologies such as smart phone capability and routine medical or diagnostic tests with cutting edge applications leveraging micro uidics, nanotechnology and in- tegrated circuit design. Such technologies allow for automated, rapid turnaround and cost-e ective diagnosis of HIV, where these assays could potentially be read- ily deployed. It is such technology that can potentially change the way diagnostics are performed, as POC technology can be rapidly disseminated, enable decentralized testing and, is user-friendly. A novel smart phone-enabled automated magnetic bead- based platform was developed for a micro uidic ELISA for HIV-1 detection at the POC to meet this demand.

Extent

69 p.

Comments

Includes bibliography.|Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017.|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Includes bibliography.

Identifier

FA00005945

Format

pdf

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