A smartphone-read ultrasensitive and quantitative saliva test for COVID-19.
2020
Improved point-of-care COVID-19 assays are urgently needed to improve disease
control efforts, but current assays lack the sensitivity of the RT-PCR
gold-standard. Herein we describe the development of a portable, ultrasensitive
saliva-based COVID-19 assay with a 15 minute sample-to-answer time that does not
require RNA isolation or laboratory equipment. This assay uses CRISPR/Cas12a
activity to enhance signal from an amplified viral RNA target, which is
stimulated by laser diode integrated into a smartphone-based fluorescence
microscope readout device. This device robustly quantified viral load over a
broad linear range (1-105 copies/μL) and exhibited a limit of
detection (0.38 copies/μL) below that of the RT-PCR reference assay.
SARS-CoV-2 RNA levels read by CRISPR were similar in patient saliva versus nasal
swab samples and viral loads measured by RT-PCR and the smartphone-read CRISPR
assay demonstrated good correlation, supporting the potential utility of this
portable assay device for saliva-based point-of-care COVID-19 diagnosis.
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