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A Smartphone-Read Ultrasensitive and Quantitative Saliva Test for COVID-19
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In this study, the authors describe an 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 a viral amplicon signal, which is stimulated by the laser diode of a smartphone-based fluorescence microscope device. This device robustly quantified viral load over a broad linear range and exhibited a limit of detection below that of the PCR gold standard assay.
- CRISPR data of SARS-CoV-2 RNA levels were similar in saliva and nasal swabs, and viral loads measured by RT-PCR and the smartphone-read CRISPR assay demonstrated good correlation. The development of saliva-based point-of-care diagnostic solutions based on noninvasive procedures can improve access to healthcare and support health monitoring across patients’ lifespans.
abstract
This abstract is available on the publisher's site.
Access this abstract nowImproved 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.
Additional Info
A Smartphone-Read Ultrasensitive and Quantitative Saliva Test for COVID-19
Sci Adv 2021 Jan 08;7(2)eabe3703, B Ning, T Yu, S Zhang, Z Huang, D Tian, Z Lin, A Niu, N Golden, K Hensley, B Threeton, CJ Lyon, XM Yin, CJ Roy, NS Saba, J Rappaport, Q Wei, TY HuFrom MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.