| European photonics scientists are developing an ultrasensitive laser sensor that detects coronavirus at the earliest point of infection from a saliva or nasal swab in minutes. | |
| Responding to the European Commission’s Express Calls to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, photonics scientists are developing a new rapid, non-invasive ‘optical biosensor’ demonstrator that will detect Covid-19 in humans as soon as it is present in the body. | |
| Having already created six working laboratory demonstrators for other applications, the research team says the technology still needs further adaptation and testing but could be available in a year at the latest. | |
| Originally developed to look for bacterial infections or cancer biomarkers, the new ultrasensitive detector uses photonics – technology that manipulates light – to detect infections in patients with a small amount of the virus. |
| With the ability to diagnose in real-time with high specificity from a low concentration sample, the sensor is much more reliable than the coronavirus rapid-test, ‘finger-prick’ kit which detects if a person has had the coronavirus before and has since recovered. | |
| Looking at tiny molecules, the new point-of-care detector examines virus antigens using miniaturised chips – or ‘nanophotonic biosensors’ – from a simple nasal or saliva swab. | |
| Once a sample is prepared and is in place, the device confirms a positive or negative for coronavirus instantaneously. However, allowing for preparation time and analysis, a result – from sample to diagnosis – may take up to 30 minutes. | |
Testing |
|
| Calling themselves CONVAT and coordinated at ‘ICN2’ (the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Spain) the researchers have tested the demonstrators on patients’ samples provided by Vall D´Hebrón Hospital in Barcelona and several other hospitals in Spain for other pathologies. | |
| Project coordinator, Professor Laura Lechuga said: “With thousands of deaths worldwide, we are in urgent need of a rapid new testing kit that is accurate, highly sensitive, non-invasive and cheap to produce”. | |
| “We are currently integrating all the instrumentation in a portable 25x15x25 cm box with a tablet control. At present, our detector is user-friendly, with the preparation being only technical expertise required, and could be widely deployed for GPs or nurses to test patients.” | |
| “Our nanosensor is capable of detecting RNA strands which will fully identify the new coronavirus.” |
Image Credit: AP
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