Introduction to Paper Diagnostics

<p> Paper diagnostics is a fast-growing area of bioengineering. It is especially appealing for detecting pathogens, such as markers for infectious diseases, in low-resource settings. Paper-based technologies are generally affordable, fast-acting, easy to use, and easy to produce. Because of these benefits, they are being explored as low-cost alternatives to traditional diagnostic technologies, such as PCR and ELISA.

S. Cerivisiae as a Biosensor

Saccharomyces Cerivisiae, commonly known as baker’s yeast, was engineered as the biosensing organism in this platform. This cell has an activity > 0 for pH from 2.1 to 7 (Arroyo et al. 2009). The activity is above 0 and increasing from 12°C to 36°C (Arroyo et al. 2009). The wild type Saccharomyces Cerivisiae is not known to be mutagenic. Another crucial characterization for test strip media is longevity. S. Cerivisiae can live for approximately 20 to 120 hours (Minois et al. 2004). In a dehydrated dormant state, however, the yeast can survive for years (Fabrizio & Longo 2003). The genome of this model organism has been sequenced, it is easy to obtain in the lab, and the genomic structure is easy to modify.