Team:Pasteur Paris/Overview

In the today’s world where we are still having trouble foreseeing events such as earthquakes and disease outbreaks, our team decided to focus on finding a way to predict one of these problems and, therefore, prevent it from happening. As the centre of our study, we chose arboviruses, mosquito-borne viruses which often cause severe diseases in humans. These viruses are spreading at an alarming rate on a global scale thanks to mosquitoes, their vectors. Currently, the most common method of fighting against the dissemination of the vectors and the viruses are insecticides, which proved to be extremely damaging to the environment. In addition to that, mosquitoes tend to develop resistance against these insecticides, which diminishes their efficiency even more.

Our project consists out of a kit named MOS(KIT)O, containing:
• A mosquito trap
• A diagnostic patch

The diagnostic patch is biosilica-based and allows a quick detection of viruses in mosquitoes, by first depositing a mosquito lysate, produced by the trap, onto the patch. This system is quick and easy to use by local administrations and allows them to create a detailed real-time mapping of the territories populated with infected mosquitoes.

So our project consists on the development of a better mapping tool of vector-borne diseases to specifically target insecticide spreading in infected areas only, to facilitate rapid diagnosis, and significantly improve the prevention against these diseases before outbreak appearance. To do that we engineered a dual system capable for ensuring both the capture of mosquitoes and also the detection of the presence or absence of virus in these vectors.

With the assistance of synthetic biology, we successfully modified E. coli, within a contained fully functioning biosafety laboratory. With it, we produce a novel fusion protein needed to create biosilica, and bind antibodies onto a cellulose support. We selected biosilica to increase rigidity of our patch and because it is completely biodegradable. The innovative design of the patch creates a multilayered matrix coated with antibodies capable of detecting a wide panel of vector-borne pathogens (like Zika, Chikunguya, Dengue, Yellow Fever…) and insecticide resistant proteins from captured mosquitoes.

This patch is customizable and can be easily adapted to simultaneously test for multiple vector-borne pathogens prevalent in specific locations. Additionally, the patch will have 2D barcoded readouts, generating an environmental surveillance database. A precise map of vector hot spots will provide a better assessment and response to vector-borne diseases, assisting local health authorities with anticipating and preparing for an epidemic.

To learn more about the design of our patch with the production of this fusion protein, you can go to the Science section.

The patch is at the very heart of the kit we want to provide. The kit is made of three parts:

• A trapping system (blablabla)
• A detection system (the patch)
• A mapping system (blabla)

The trapping system is designed to catch mosquitoes in the most effective way. It works by mimicking the signals that attract mosquito toward humans and animals. It works on three scales:
• the mosquito is attracted by the plume of CO2 emitted in a 10 to 50-meter radius
• the color contrast, that depends on the species of mosquito we target
• the moisture in the trap

When we decide to introduce a detection system against arboviruses in the environment, it is essential to take into account the safety of local people and surrounding ecosystems. That's why our new fusion protein and its cellulose support are fully biodegradable. In addition, we have thought about combining our patch with our trap in a completely sealed container that can be opened only with a key, for example. It will be necessary to train people to read the results of this test and open this container.

We imagined 2 kinds of traps. On the one hand, a stationary trap for fixed positions in urban or suburban areas, on the other, a drone based trap to span areas that are difficult to access like tropical forests. In the latter case, the drone will be programmed to come back to its base with the trap full of mosquitoes. The CO2 plume is produced by pouring vinegar on a solution of NaHCO3. We use this way to product CO2 because it is very simple and economically suitable for poor countries. Mosquitoes are attracted and trapped in a chamber.

Once the diagnosis has been performed, a trained person will come to read the results of the test kit and replace refill the system.

To learn more about the design of the trap and the diagnostic KIT, you can go to the Device section.