Nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs), which amplify and detect pathogen nucleic acids, are vital methods to diagnose diseases, particularly in cases where patients exhibit low levels of infection. For many blood-borne pathogens such as HIV or Plasmodium falciparum, it is necessary to first extract pathogen RNA or DNA from patient blood prior to NAAT analysis. Traditional nucleic acid extraction methods are expensive, resource-intensive and are often difficult to deploy to resource-limited areas where many blood-borne infections are widespread. Here, we describe a portable, paper-and-plastic device, called SNAPflex, for instrument-free nucleic acid extraction from whole blood, which builds upon our previous work for RNA extraction using a pressure-driven extraction system. SNAPflex shows improved HIV RNA extraction from simulated patient samples compared to traditional extraction methods as well as long-term stability of extracted RNA without the need for cold storage. We further demonstrated successful extraction and recovery of P. falciparum DNA from cultured parasites in whole blood. SNAPflex was designed to be easily manufacturable and deployable to resource-limited settings.

中文翻译：

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SNAPflex：一种用于从全血中无仪器提取 RNA 和 DNA 的纸塑设备。

扩增和检测病原体核酸的核酸扩增试验 (NAAT) 是诊断疾病的重要方法，特别是在患者表现出低水平感染的情况下。对于许多血液传播的病原体，如 HIV 或恶性疟原虫, 在 NAAT 分析之前, 有必要首先从患者血液中提取病原体 RNA 或 DNA。传统的核酸提取方法价格昂贵、资源密集，而且通常难以部署到资源有限的地区，而这些地区存在许多血源性感染。在这里，我们描述了一种称为 SNAPflex 的便携式纸塑设备，用于从全血中提取无仪器核酸，它建立在我们之前使用压力驱动提取系统进行 RNA 提取的工作之上。与传统提取方法相比，SNAPflex 从模拟患者样本中提取的 HIV RNA 有所改进，提取的 RNA 具有长期稳定性，无需冷藏。我们进一步证明了恶性疟原虫的成功提取和回收来自全血中培养的寄生虫的 DNA。SNAPflex 旨在易于制造和部署到资源有限的环境中。