Novel Chip-Based PCR May Render Ultrafast Diagnosis In COVID-19

Development of a plasmofluidic chip helps perform PCR in only about 8 minutes, which could speed diagnosis during current and future pandemics, as per a study at the American Chemical Society, published in the journal ACS Nano.

Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) has been the gold standard for diagnosis during the COVID-19 pandemic. It utilizes several enzymes to reverse transcribe tiny amounts of viral RNA to DNA, and then amplify the DNA to make them detected.

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‘Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) has been the gold standard for diagnosis during the COVID-19 pandemic. Development of a plasmofluidic chip helps perform PCR in only about 8 minutes, which could speed diagnosis during current and future pandemics. ’

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However, the bulky, expensive machines of the PCR portion of the test require about an hour to complete as 30-40 cycles of heating and cooling take place and thus makes it difficult for quick diagnosis.

A proper timely medical care, that includes quarantining and contact tracing is very important and depends on the rapid diagnosis of these highly contagious viral diseases like COVID-19.

Hence the study team developed a plasmofluidic PCR chip that could quickly heat and cool miniscule volumes of liquids, and allow for an accurate point-of-care diagnosis in a fraction of the time.

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Ultrafast On-Chip PCR Test

A postage stamp-sized polydimethylsiloxane chip with a microchamber array (positioned above glass nanopillars with gold nanoislands) for the PCR reactions were devised by the study team.

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The device was also tested on a piece of DNA containing a SARS-CoV-2 gene. The fluorescence detection was possible in only 5 minutes with accomplishment of 40 heating and cooling cycles and an additional 3 minutes for sample loading.

With the reverse transcriptase step added before sample loading, the entire testing time with the new method could take 10-13 minutes, as opposed to about an hour for typical RT-PCR testing. It was seen that the amplification efficiency was 91%, whereas a comparable conventional PCR process with an efficiency of 98%.

The study thereby highlights the fact that this new device might provide several pathways for rapid point-of-care diagnostics during a pandemic.

Source-Medindia