Development of a new field-deployable RT-qPCR workflow for COVID-19 detection

Background:Outbreaks of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)have been recorded in different countries across the globe.The virus is highly contagious,hence early detection,isolation,and quarantine of infected patients will play an important role in containing the viral spread.Diagnosis in a mobile lab can aid to find infected patients in time.Methods:Here,we develop a field-deployable diagnostic workflow that can reliably detect COVID-19.Instruments used in this workflow can easily fit in a mobile cabin hospital and also be installed in the community.Different steps from sample inactivation to detection were optimized to find the fastest steps and portable instruments in the detection of COVID-19.Each step was compared to that of the normal laboratory diagnosis setup.Results:From the results,our proposed workflow(80 min)was two times faster compared to that of the normal laboratory workflow(183 min)and a maximum of 32 samples could be detected at each run.Additionally,we showed that using 1%Rewocid WK-30 could inactivate the novel coronavirus directly without affecting the overall detection results.Comparison of our workflow using an in-house assay to that of a commercially acquired assay produced highly reliable results.From the 250 hospital samples tested,there was a high concordance 247/250(98.8%)between the two assays.The in-house assay sensitivity and specificity were 116/116(100%)and 131/134(97.8%)compared to that of the commercial assay.Conclusion:Based on these results,we believe that our workflow is fast,reliable,adaptable and most importantly,field-deployable.

SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 laboratory biosafety practices and current molecular diagnostic tools

The ongoing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)/coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic has crippled several countries across the globe posing a serious global public health challenge.Despite the massive rollout of vaccines,molecular diagnosis remains the most important method for timely isolation,diagnosis,and control of COVID-19.Several molecular diagnostic tools have been developed since the beginning of the pandemic with some even gaining emergency use authorization from the United States(US)Food and Drug Administration for in vitro diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2.Herein,we discuss the working principles of some commonly used molecular diagnostic tools for SARS-CoV-2 including nucleic acid amplification tests,isothermal amplification tests,and rapid diagnostic tests.To ensure successful detection while minimizing the risk of cross-infection and misdiagnosis when using these diagnostic tools,laboratories should adhere to proper biosafety practices.Hence,we also present the common biosafety practices that may ensure the successful detection of SARS-CoV-2 from specimens while protecting laboratory workers and non-suspecting individuals from being infected.From this review article,it is clear that the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has led to an increase in molecular diagnostic tools and the formation of new biosafety protocols that may be important for future and ongoing outbreaks.