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  • Review Article
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Paper-based sensors for bacteria detection

Nature Reviews Bioengineering volume 1, pages 180–192 (2023)Cite this article

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Abstract

The detection of pathogenic bacteria is essential to prevent and treat infections and to provide food security. Current gold-standard detection techniques, such as culture-based assays and polymerase chain reaction, are time-consuming and require centralized laboratories. Therefore, efforts have focused on developing point-of-care devices that are fast, cheap, portable and do not require specialized training. Paper-based analytical devices meet these criteria and are particularly suitable to deployment in low-resource settings. In this Review, we highlight paper-based analytical devices with substantial point-of-care applicability for bacteria detection and discuss challenges and opportunities for future development.

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Fig. 1: Timeline of paper-based sensors.
Fig. 2: Commercial paper-based sensors.
Fig. 3: Operational process of paper-based sensors.

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Acknowledgements

R.C. acknowledges support from the National Health and Medical Research Council Emerging Leadership Investigator Grant (NHMRC APP1173428) and the UNSW Scientia Fellowship.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemical Engineering and Australian Centre for Nanomedicine (ACN), The University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

    Federico Mazur, Angie Davina Tjandra, Yingzhu Zhou, Yuan Gao & Rona Chandrawati

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  2. Angie Davina Tjandra
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Contributions

F.M. conceptualized the content, investigated the literature, analysed the data, wrote and revised the manuscript and designed the figures. A.D.T. investigated the literature, analysed the data, wrote the manuscript and designed the figures. Y.Z. investigated the literature, analysed the data and wrote the manuscript. Y.G. investigated the literature, analysed the data and wrote the manuscript. R.C. conceptualized the content, investigated the literature, revised the manuscript and supervised the project.

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Related links

COVID-19 rapid antigen test: https://asm.org/Articles/2020/August/How-the-SARS-CoV-2-EUA-Antigen-Tests-Work

National policy targets: https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/your-environment/recycling-and-reuse/response-to-china-national-sword/circular-economy-policy

SDG12: https://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/374917/Circular-Economy_EN_WHO_web_august-2018.pdf

Top 10 global causes of death in 2019: https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/themes/mortality-and-global-health-estimates

Unsafe food: https://www.who.int/NEWS-ROOM/FACT-SHEETS/DETAIL/FOOD-SAFETY

WHO-UNICEF: https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/331499

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Mazur, F., Tjandra, A.D., Zhou, Y. et al. Paper-based sensors for bacteria detection. Nat Rev Bioeng 1, 180–192 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44222-023-00024-w

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