Microfluidic impedance platform for long-term detection of parasite viability

Abstract

Schistosomiasis is a disease, caused by a tropical worm of the genus Schistosoma, which infects millions of people annually. The current gold standard for screening candidate drugs against schistosomiasis is highly labor-intensive and provides limited information on drug efficacy. Here, we present an impedance-based microfluidic platform, capable of monitoring the viability of the parasites during long-term measurements. This device can be used as a pre-screening tool for candidate drug selection and to gain more insights into pharmacodynamics.