An automated DNA computing platform for rapid etiological diagnostics

Rapid and accurate classification of the etiology for acute respiratory illness not only helps establish timely therapeutic plans but also prevents inappropriate use of antibiotics. Host gene expression patterns in peripheral blood can discriminate bacterial from viral causes of acute respiratory infection (ARI) but suffer from long turnaround time, as well as high cost resulting from the measurement methods of microarrays and next-generation sequencing. Here, we developed an automated DNA computing–based platform that can implement an in silico trained classification model at the molecular level with seven different mRNA expression patterns for accurate diagnosis of ARI etiology in 4 hours. By integrating sample loading, marker amplification, classifier implementation, and results reporting into one platform, we obtained a diagnostic accuracy of 87% in 80 clinical samples without the aid of computer and laboratory technicians. This platform creates opportunities toward an accurate, rapid, low-cost, and automated diagnosis of disease etiology in emergency departments or point-of-care clinics.