Nanobiolab's CEPAT: Sensitive and specific COVID-19 kit

28 May. 2020

As the first keynote speaker of the 7^th Science and Technology Exchange Program (STEP), Jackie Ying, the 2015 Mustafa Prize Laureate, talked about the recent works that she has been conducting, along with her research team, to develop an effective COVID-19 test kit.

Looking at the unique structure of Coronavirus, she stated that "it has S-protein which is responsible for attachment and entry of CoV to host cells."

"S-protein of SARS-CoV-2 contains a 3D structure in the RBD that recognizes the human ACE2 receptor for entry into the host cell."

"The transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is possible through respiratory droplets and then touching infected surfaces," she remarked.

She then spoke of methods to diagnose the disease, pointing to RT-PCR method which is the most commonly used test to detect COVID-19.

"This method is conducted through Nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs and other upper respiratory tract specimens such as throat swab saliva. The virus on NP swabs becomes detectable as early as day one and peaks within one week of the symptom."

She also remarked that "detection of IgG/IgM immune response to SARS-CoV-2 is important in determining the extent of COVID-19 infection in the community."

"However, the use of IgG/IgM has been controversial. There have been some inexpensive kits in the market, but in the first week of the disease the virus cannot be picked up by this method because the person has a high viral load. In Singapore it is used only for surveillance purposes," she observed.

She stated that due to the major social and economic damage in addition to the overwhelming death toll of the health care system, having a timely diagnosis is key to solving the problem.

This is why RT-PCR is currently the most sensitive/specific and preferred test in the world right now.

"We have developed a singleplex RT-PCR in our lab and our target is S gene," she said.

She stated that there have been 22 "true positive cases" determined by FORTITUDE kit and 2 negative samples which were determined as positive by NBL's kit

"This shows that there are many kits out there, but the sensitivity is really important because it determines the accuracy of the result," she noted.

She then explained Isothermal Amplification which allows amplification at a fixed temperature, removes the need for temperature cycling, and has many more benefits."

"These Isothermal Amplification kits are very promising but they need to be developed for commercialization," she added.

"Very recently, NBL has developed CEPAT which is a novel exponential Isothermal Amplification method detecting Coronavirus in less than 10 minutes. we are going beyond to give better sensitivity and specification."

We are also interested in developing a handheld PCR which can be easily deployed at checkpoints, screening stations, clinics, etc. They are small and inexpensive," she said.

News Source: MSTF Media