Detection of Helminth Ova in Wastewater Using Recombinase Polymerase Amplification Coupled to Lateral Flow Strips

oleh: Vivek B Ravindran, Basma Khallaf, Aravind Surapaneni, Nicholas D Crosbie, Sarvesh K Soni, Andrew S Ball

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2020-03-01

Deskripsi

<i>Ascaris lumbricoides </i>is a major soil-transmitted helminth that is highly infective to humans. The ova of <i>A. lumbricoides </i>are able to survive wastewater treatment, thus making it an indicator organism for effective water treatment and sanitation. Hence, <i>Ascaris </i>ova must be removed from wastewater matrices for the safe use of recycled water. Current microscopic techniques for identification and enumeration of <i>Ascaris </i>ova are laborious and cumbersome. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based techniques are sensitive and specific, however, major constraints lie in having to transport samples to a centralised laboratory, the requirement for sophisticated instrumentation and skilled personnel. To address this issue, a rapid, highly specific, sensitive, and affordable method for the detection of helminth ova was developed utilising recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) coupled with lateral flow (LF) strips. In this study, <i>Ascaris suum </i>ova were used to demonstrate the potential use of the RPA-LF assay. The method was faster (&lt; 30 min) with optimal temperature at 37 &#176;C and greater sensitivity than PCR-based approaches with detection as low as 2 femtograms of DNA. Furthermore, ova from two different helminth genera were able to be detected as a multiplex assay using a single lateral flow strip, which could significantly reduce the time and the cost of helminth identification. The RPA-LF system represents an accurate, rapid, and cost-effective technology that could replace the existing detection methods, which are technically challenged and not ideal for on-site detection in wastewater treatment plants.