We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress hp
Sign In
Advertise with Us
LGC Clinical Diagnostics

Download Mobile App




Rapid Lateral Flow Assays Detect COVID-19 Variants and Differentiate COVID-19 from Other Respiratory Viral Diseases

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 02 Mar 2021
Print article
Image: Illustration of a lateral flow assay (LFA) (Photo courtesy of U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration via Wikimedia Commons)
Image: Illustration of a lateral flow assay (LFA) (Photo courtesy of U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration via Wikimedia Commons)
A recent publication reported the development of two rapid diagnostic tests - one that detects COVID-19 variants and one that differentiates COVID-19 from other respiratory viral diseases.

Investigators at the University of Minnesota Medical School (Minneapolis/St.Paul, USA) used the CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing tool to develop two rapid lateral flow diagnostic tests. CRISPRs (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) are segments of prokaryotic DNA containing short repetitions of base sequences. Each repetition is followed by short segments of "spacer DNA" from previous exposures to a bacterial virus or plasmid. Since 2013, the CRISPR/Cas9 system has been used in research for gene editing (adding, disrupting, or changing the sequence of specific genes) and gene regulation. By delivering the Cas9 enzyme and appropriate guide RNAs (sgRNAs) into a cell, the organism's genome can be cut at any desired location. The conventional CRISPR/Cas9 system from Streptococcus pyogenes is composed of two parts: the Cas9 enzyme, which cleaves the DNA molecule and specific RNA guides that shepherd the Cas9 protein to the target gene on a DNA strand.

The investigators integrated commercially available reagents into a CRISPR/Cas9-based lateral flow assay (LFA) that could detect severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequences with single-base specificity. This approach required minimal equipment and represented a simplified platform for field-based deployment. They also developed a rapid, multiplex fluorescence CRISPR/Cas9 nuclease cleavage assay capable of detecting and differentiating SARS-CoV-2, influenza A and B, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in a single reaction.

The LFA test strips employed bound fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)/6-Carboxyfluorescein (FAM) and biotin to generate a positive result. Therefore, the investigators used a FITC/FAM-labeled PCR primer and a nuclease inactive (“dead”) biotinylated Cas9 and a single sgRNA specific for the ORF8a gene of SARS-Co-V-2 to label amplicons for detection by LFA. This approach was capable of single-nucleotide resolution and avoided false positives from primer dimer or non-specific amplification artifacts that could occur with the use of tandem FITC- and biotin-labeled primers for LFA.

"The approval of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine is highly promising, but the time between first doses and population immunity may be months," said first author Dr. Mark J. Osborn, assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Minnesota Medical School. "This testing platform can help bridge the gap between immunization and immunity."

The rapid LFA tests were described in the February 12, 2021, online edition of the journal Bioengineering.

Related Links:
University of Minnesota Medical School

Gold Member
Fully Automated Cell Density/Viability Analyzer
BioProfile FAST CDV
Verification Panels for Assay Development & QC
Seroconversion Panels
New
Piezoelectric Micropump
Disc Pump
New
Respiratory Bacterial Panel
Real Respiratory Bacterial Panel 2

Print article

Channels

Immunology

view channel
Image: The findings were based on patients from the ADAURA clinical trial of the targeted therapy osimertinib for patients with NSCLC with EGFR-activated mutations (Photo courtesy of YSM Multimedia Team)

Post-Treatment Blood Test Could Inform Future Cancer Therapy Decisions

In the ongoing advancement of personalized medicine, a new study has provided evidence supporting the use of a tool that detects cancer-derived molecules in the blood of lung cancer patients years after... Read more

Microbiology

view channel
Image: Schematic representation illustrating the key findings of the study (Photo courtesy of UNIST)

Breakthrough Diagnostic Technology Identifies Bacterial Infections with Almost 100% Accuracy within Three Hours

Rapid and precise identification of pathogenic microbes in patient samples is essential for the effective treatment of acute infectious diseases, such as sepsis. The fluorescence in situ hybridization... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2025 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.