The ECLIPSE project aims to design and produce a nanobiotechnological platform for the detection of pathogens that is both economical, usable even by non-expert personnel and with a high level of sensitivity and reliability.
ECLIPSE builds on the combination of interdisciplinary elements to facilitate the transfer to industry, i.e., (i) ElectroChemiLuminescence (ECL) as a very sensitive transduction mechanism for realizing simple, portable and cheap devices, (ii) bio-, nano-, and supramolecular-based signal amplification structures for increasing the sensitivity, and (iii) two recognition strategies to afford high affinity and selectivity, thus leading to high reliability: the Phage-Sandwich technology for the whole pathogen, and the Surface Cooperative Hybridization technology for microbial and viral nucleic acid.
The feasibility and adaptability of the ECLIPSE platform will be demonstrated with three test cases: a virus (SARS-CoV-2), a bacterium (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and a protozoan parasite (Leishmania infantum).
The platform is designed to be applied to many other infectious agents, making it a “ready for the next pandemic” technology.
ECLIPSE is expected to become a game-changer in European countries, where it could be a cornerstone for fast testing and reliable tracking of infections, and in developing countries that will benefit from a cheap and simple approach to detect the many infectious diseases that affect millions of people every year.
Eclipse project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe EIC Pathfinder Open Programme under Grant Agreement N. 101046787.