High-Speed NanoPCR Technology Diagnoses COVID-19 in 20 Minutes with Zero False Positive and False Negative

The nanoPCR technology developed by scientists at the Center for Nanomedicine (CNM) within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS; Seoul, Korea) can diagnose COVID-19 while retaining the accuracy of conventional reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technology. The novel nanoPCR technology that can be used for the decentralized, POC diagnosis of COVID-19 uses the same underlying principle as the standard diagnosis method of RT-PCR to detect viral RNA, but also features a vast improvement in speed using hybrid nanomaterials and a miniaturized form factor which allows portability.

The research team utilized a magneto-plasmonic nanoparticle (MPN) that is comprised of magnetic material in its core and a gold shell that exhibits plasmonic effects. By applying MPNs to PCR, they developed 'nanoPCR' which greatly improves the speed of RT-PCR while retaining highly accurate detection. Plasmonic properties of MPN refer to its ability to convert light energy into thermal energy, and by using this it was possible to shorten the thermocycling step of RT-PCR from 1 - 2 hours to within 11 minutes. In addition, the strong magnetic property of MPN allows an external magnetic field to clear MPNs from the PCR solution to allow for fluorescent detection of the amplified genes. The nanoPCR is capable of detecting even a small amount of genes (~3.2 copies/μl) accurately while simultaneously amplifying and detecting genetic material with high sensitivity and specificity.

The researchers tested nanoPCR under clinical settings through the patient specimen tests. During the test, 150 subjects with or without COVID-19 infection were accurately diagnosed using this technology (75 positives, 75 negative samples; zero false-negatives and false-positives). The level of sensitivity and specificity was found to be equivalent to that of the conventional RT-PCR (~99%). In addition to high reliability, the whole diagnostic process was considerably fast, as on average it took about 17 minutes for the diagnosis of one specimen.

In addition, the researchers showed the possibility of improving the analytical throughput by applying a Ferris wheel system to load multiple samples at once, which would allow for simultaneous testing of many samples from multiple patients. Importantly, the nanoPCR equipment is very compact in size (15 × 15 × 18 cm) and weight (3 kg), which allows it to be portable. All of this would pave the way for rapid, decentralized testing of patients for the POC diagnosis.

"Through the improvement and miniaturization of the PCR technology, we have shown that it is possible to perform PCR based POC diagnosis in the field quickly," said Professor Cheon Jinwoo, director of CNM.

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