New laser technology for HIV diagnostic

At the Society of Photo-optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) West Conference the group of researchers from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) will present a novel technology for laser-based HIV point-of-care diagnostics. The Conference will take place in San-Francisco this week.

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is South Africa’s scientific research and development organization with its own campus in Pretoria. It is the largest research and development (R&D) organization in Africa and accounts for about 10% of the entire African R&D budget.

The new method combines coupling of laser trapping with Raman spectroscopy (LTRS) which allows a non-invasive immobilization and label-free analysis of single infected cells and, compared to HIV-1 diagnostics such as the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA), does not require the use of labels and substrates.
“Addressing issues of accuracy, cost and time were important for the purpose of this research. In light of HIV/Aids being a serious disease claiming the lives of many in developing countries, particularly in , it is important that our research addresses the challenges of the day,” said Dr Mthunzi-Kufa, CSIR senior researcher in biophotonics.