Snakebite is a neglected tropical disease, causing mortality andmorbidity There is increasing interest in designing new antivenom treatments that are more specific to particular groups of species, given the increasing evidence that current polyvalent Indian antivenom is ineffective in many situations. Under these circumstances, being able to detect the species, or a group of species, responsible for the envenomation is important but no such diagnostic tool is available in the Indian market.

In this study published recently in the journal of Royal Society of Chemistry, the Analyst Indian researchers including network member Vishal Santra reports a device that has the ability to detect and differentiate viper venom from elapid and scorpion venom. The device uses nanotechnology and paper microfluidics for rapid and accurate detection of viper venom.

The paper is available here (click)