Nucleic Acid Amplification-Based Technologies (NAAT)—Toward Accessible, Autonomous, and Mobile Diagnostics

Abstract

The ongoing pandemic and increasing frequency of infectious disease outbreaks due to climate change, urbanization, and global human migration have put great focus on nucleic acid amplification-based diagnostic technologies (NAAT). These methods can provide gold standard accuracy and sensitivity, and their widespread availability at the point-of-care is crucial for managing the spread of pathogens in human and animal populations, as well as for environmental surveillance. However, so far the reach of NAAT-based platforms has mostly remained limited to centralized facilities in the hand of trained workers, causing great distress in times of need. In this review, the current state-of-the-art research, as well as, commercial diagnostic products, is highlighted, their performances are discussed, and the role of academic-industrial collaborations in developing the next generation of breakthrough technologies is emphasized. It is envisioned that with these collaborations, the next generation of autonomous, affordable, and mobile NAAT devices can be developed, for a broad range of targets, and for providing truly democratized access to NAAT diagnostics for the global population in the future.