Novas abordagens para o desenvolvimento de insumos e métodos para o diagnóstico de malária

Abstract

Malaria remains the most medically important parasitic disease in the world. Brazil is among the countries with the highest number of cases in the Americas, with infections mostly caused by the species Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum. Since accurate diagnosis before disease progression is one of the best ways to control malaria, an effort is needed to provide diagnoses that reach the entire population at risk. The malaria diagnostics market demonstrates an increasing need to increase its capabilities, to satisfactorily serve the world's population. There is also a demand for the creation of new technologies that can provide the ideal characteristics for sensitive, specific, and reliable detection of malaria. Aiming at these problems, our team has been seeking to develop new inputs and methods for the diagnosis of malaria. In chapter I of this thesis, we present a review article that highlights the advantages and use of antibodies obtained from chickens (IgY) in the production of diagnostic tests for infectious diseases. Chapter II discusses the development of a method for solubilizing carbon nanotubes, applicable to the immunization of haptens to generate specific antibodies. Therefore, in Chapter III, we used these carrier molecules in chicken immunizations against peptides related to plasmodium lactate dehydrogenase (pLDH) and plasmodium glutamate dehydrogenase protein (pGDH), which were evaluated by flow cytometry, in wich the anti-pLDH antibodies showed specific reactivity to samples from infected patients. Finally, in chapter IV, seeking an alternative method for the detection of malarial biomarkers that do not require the use of antibodies, a new electrochemical biosensor was developed that uses a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) capable of selectively binding to “protein 2” rich in histidine (HRP2) from plasmodium. The techniques addressed in this thesis can contribute to the production of commercial tools with ethical production, reducing or excluding the need to cause pain and/or discomfort to animals for the production of diagnostic inputs, and economically advantageous for the malaria diagnostic market since its scalability and low cost.