DNA-Scaffolded Lateral Flow Assays: Enhancing the Accuracy of Strongyloidiasis Serological Diagnosis

Claudio Parolo.

FURV-Fundació Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Spain.

Strongyloidiasis is a neglected tropical disease affecting an estimated 600 million people. The World Health Organization has listed its control as a priority, but progress has been hindered by the lack of a rapid, reliable diagnostic test. Current diagnostic tools are experimental and show poor consistency, sensitivity and specificity. This project aims to develop an assay that delivers clear and reliable results suitable for large-scale monitoring.

SERO-Strongy is an innovative test that combines programmable DNA scaffolds with AI-designed antigens optimised for stability, antigenicity and integration with the scaffolds. The DNA scaffolds create a threshold signal that becomes visible only when antibody levels reach a clinically meaningful value, producing a robust and unambiguous result. The team will engineer the sequences and validate the test in a well-characterised cohort.

The results could support global surveillance in low-resource settings by providing an affordable, equipment-free test that non-specialists can interpret. This would enable reliable monitoring of mass treatment campaigns and help reduce the long-term burden of chronic helminth infections.

• Gabriel Ortega, Asociación Centro de Investigación Cooperativa en Biociencias-CIC bioGUNE, Spain.

• Jose Muñoz, Institut de Salut Global de Barcelona (ISGlobal), Spain.

STAGE 1