In an outbreak of an infectious disease like Covid-19, diagnosing patients is a key first step to preventing its spread. Identifying infected patients allows doctors to quickly ring-fence them, so they do not spread the virus to others while they are being treated.
The current "gold standard" method using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology detects the presence of viral genetic material in patient samples, but it is time-consuming and technical, since it involves expensive machinery that also requires trained technicians to operate.
Now, at least two research groups in Singapore are working on speeding up this process with test kits that can show results in minutes, instead of the current day-long wait for PCR test results.
One test being developed by researchers at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (Smart) could even be as fuss-free as a pregnancy test kit, yielding results in 10 minutes.
Their test kit is made of paper coated with molecules that "recognise" Sars-CoV-2 - the virus that causes Covid-19 - proteins in a clinical sample. If the viral proteins are detected, the paper strip changes from white to blue.
A key difference between this work-in-progress test and the PCR test is the part of the virus that is being detected, explains research team member, Professor Peter Preiser, associate vice-president for biomedical and life sciences at NTU. Sars-CoV-2 comprises a single-stranded genetic material known as RNA, as well as proteins.
"The PCR test detects the RNA of the virus. The test we are working on detects proteins of the virus."
The principle behind this test, he explains, is to use the coated paper to capture all the viral proteins in a sample and then detect this captured protein via a visual read-out.
This may sound simple in theory but plenty of research went into it.
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