“We developed a rapid, highly sensitive and accurate assay, and a portable, battery-powered device for COVID-19 testing that can be used anywhere at any time,” said University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign chemical and biomolecular engineering professor Huimin Zhao, who led the research.
The handheld device is can cost less than $78 and the reagents and other materials needed for testing would amount to $6-$7 per test, the researchers found.
New device can be operated by anyone with minimal training who is careful when loading samples, Zhao said.
Artificial restriction enzymes identify and cut specific genes in a genome. In the new device, these enzymes carry DNA guides that tag the viral genes of interest.
The enzyme cleaves the genes, which have been tagged with a dye that fluoresces only after the genes are cut. The resulting fluorescence signals that those genes are present – a positive test result.
Scalable and Portable Testing(SPOT) prevents the complicated process of heating and cooling each sample to get results, as many current testing protocols require.
It can detect multiple genes per sample, making it more reliable. It utilizes saliva, which is easier to collect and less invasive than a nasal swab.
The research team tested SPOT using 104 clinical saliva samples. They found that it accurately identified 28 out of 30 SARS-CoV-2-positive samples and 73 of 74 SARS-CoV-2-negative samples.
“Based on the data reported in the literature, the accuracy of our test is comparable to or better than other SARS-CoV-2 tests,” Zhao said.
SPOT accurately identified samples containing the new coronavirus, whether or not other viruses were present in the sample.
“We are interested in exploring this technology for detection of other diseases as well,” Zhao said. “One key advantage to this technology is its multiplexing capability, so in principle, we can detect many viruses simultaneously using the same device.”
Source: Medindia
