Paper strips can now detect malaria and cancer

Paper strips have come a long way from just determining how much chlorine is in your pool. They can now potentially detect cancer and malaria from just one drop of blood.

Developed by chemists at The Ohio State University including lead researcher, Abraham Badu-Tawiah, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, these paper strips could represent a leap forward in the healthcare in undeveloped countries.

To use the strip, people need to apply a drop of blood to the paper and send it to a laboratory. This innovation has the potential to diagnose malaria in people in rural Africa and southeast Asia where the disease kills thousands due to limited healthcare.

"To get tested, all a person would have to do is put a drop of blood on the paper strip, fold it in half, put it in an envelope and mail it," Badu-Tawiah said.

The stripes are able to detect these diseases through small ionic probes that allow ultra-sensitive detection by a handheld mass spectrometer.

"Enzymes are picky. They have to be kept at just the right temperature and they can't be stored dry or exposed to light," Badu-Tawiah said. "But the ionic probes are hardy. They are not affected by light, temperature, humidity—ven the heat in Africa can't do anything to them. So you can mail one of these strips to a hospital and know that it will be readable when it gets there."

Even a month after the blood sample was taken, the strips can give an accurate reading. The small cost of 50 cents each is also a plus when distributing to those in need.  

The strips also may be able to detect diseases in the human body for which the antibodies are produced, including ovarian and large intestinal cancer.