New research may pave the way for safer and more efficient COVID-19 testing

An international study led by the University of Monash and the Peter Doherty Institute for Infectious Immunology has achieved a proof of concept for a new fast and portable saliva screening test that uses infrared technology to confirm SARS-CoV-2 infection. It was.

Research today Applied Chemistry..

Professor Bayden Wood of the Faculty of Chemistry, Monash University, former Dr. Phil Hero of the Monash Institute for Biomedical Discovery, and collaborators of the Doherty Institute, Professor Dale Godfrey and Professor Damian Purcell, include the use of portables. We are reporting on a new diagnostic approach. An infrared device for detecting SARS-CoV-2 virus in saliva.

The team identified signs of an infectious agent on the infrared spectrum of saliva from 27 of 29 subjects infected with SARS-CoV-2 who showed symptoms similar to COVID-19 at Royal Melbourne Hospital.

“The most important advantages of using this infrared-based technology for saliva samples are the speed and ease with which tests can be performed, their affordability, and Risk reduction For both patients and healthcare professionals, “Wood said.

Scientists say this is a very promising preliminary study and wants to see further trials in a larger patient cohort to better understand the peculiarities of this approach.

The portable infrared spectrometer has been modified to enable high-throughput screening, allowing samples to be quickly scanned in non-contact mode without having to clean the instrument between measurements.

Professor Wood estimates that this technique can screen 5,000 samples per device per day, with results for each. sample You’ll be ready in 5 minutes.

Dr. Heraud said that infrared light interacts with molecular vibrations and can be used to generate spectra that represent the unique chemical fingerprints of a sample, which are then processed using machine learning algorithms. It was.

“This approach has significant advantages over the current gold standard for detection, the standard real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR),” says Professor Godfrey.

“As we know, this requires samples to be sent to a dedicated laboratory, and the results take more than a day.”

According to Professor Purcell, the proposed new test also avoids the discomfort associated with nasopharyngeal swabs. This is an advantage that can improve community participation in testing.

“A person can provide a sample simply by dribbling into a sterile container,” he said.

“Results are available in less than 5 minutes, and rapid results minimize the risk of further spread of the infection by minimizing the delay in deciding whether quarantine is needed.”

A similar infrared technique known as Attenuated Total Reflectivity (ATR) spectroscopy has been previously used by Monash researchers to detect malaria and hepatitis.

The new transflective infrared-based approach provides three times the absorbance, thus examining more saliva to detect pathogens compared to traditional ATR technology.

The speed and versatility of this technology enhances the use of point-of-care screening at airports, sports venues, universities, or schools and triages patients for RT-PCR testing.

Although multiple methods were used to validate the approach, Professor Baydenwood, with the help of the beamline team, used the infrared microspectroscopy beamline at the Australian Synchrotron (AS) to do much of the initial work. I ran it.

Measurements performed on the AS were recorded from a cluster of highly purified viruses provided by the Doherty Institute team.

Next, the unique infrared RNA signature from the SARS-CoV-2 virus, Saliva sample Record using a portable device.