CandyCollect: at-home saliva sampling for capture of respiratory pathogens

Ulri N. Lee; Xiaojing Su; Damielle L. Hieber; Wan-chen Tu; Anika M. McManamen; Meg G. Takezawa; Grant W. Hassan; Tung Ching Chan; Karen N. Adams; Ellen R. Wald; Gregory P. DeMuri; Erwin Berthier; Ashleigh B. Theberge; Sanitta Thongpang

doi:10.1039/D1LC01132D

CandyCollect: at-home saliva sampling for capture of respiratory pathogens†

Ulri N. Lee,

‡^a Xiaojing Su,

‡^a Damielle L. Hieber,^a Wan-chen Tu,

^a Anika M. McManamen,

^a Meg G. Takezawa,^a Grant W. Hassan,^a Tung Ching Chan,^a Karen N. Adams,

^b Ellen R. Wald,

^c Gregory P. DeMuri,

^c Erwin Berthier,

^a Ashleigh B. Theberge

*^ad and Sanitta Thongpang

*^ae

Author affiliations

* Corresponding authors

^a Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
E-mail: abt1@uw.edu, sanitta@uw.edu

^b Institute of Translational Health Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

^c Department of Pediatrics, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA

^d Department of Urology, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

^e Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University, Nakorn Pathom, Thailand

Abstract

Streptococcus pyogenes is a major human-specific bacterial pathogen and a common cause of a wide range of symptoms from mild infection such as pharyngitis (commonly called strep throat) to life-threatening invasive infection and post-infectious sequelae. Traditional methods for diagnosis include collecting a sample using a pharyngeal swab, which can cause discomfort and even discourage adults and children from seeking proper testing and treatment in the clinic. Saliva samples are an alternative to pharyngeal swabs. To improve the testing experience for strep throat, we developed a novel lollipop-inspired sampling platform (called CandyCollect) to capture bacteria in saliva. The device can be used in clinics or in the home and shipped back to a lab for analysis, integrating with telemedicine. CandyCollect is designed to capture bacteria on an oxygen plasma treated polystyrene surface embedded with flavoring substances to enhance the experience for children and inform the required time to complete the sampling process. In addition, the open channel structure prevents the tongue from scraping and removing the captured bacteria. The flavoring substances did not affect bacterial capture and the device has a shelf life of at least 2 months (with experiments ongoing to extend the shelf life). We performed a usability study with 17 participants who provided feedback on the device design and the dissolving time of the candy. This technology and advanced processing techniques, including polymerase chain reaction (PCR), will enable user-friendly and effective diagnosis of streptococcal pharyngitis.

This article is part of the themed collection: Miniaturised Sensors & Diagnostics

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CandyCollect: at-home saliva sampling for capture of respiratory pathogens†

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