There is currently an urgent global need for point of care diagnostic tests to identify people who are infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus (Covid-19). Current PCR-based testing requires samples to be shipped to a centralised testing laboratory which means that results typically take 24 hours of more to be confirmed. As the world moves beyond the first pandemic spike and populations emerge from lockdown, there will be an increased need for rapid testing options which can underpin test-trace-isolate strategies.
A University of Warwick team have demonstrated that the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein binds to certain glycan (sugar) molecules, that glycan-functionalised nanoparticles can be used to detect the spike protein and that these nanoparticles can be incorporated into a pregnancy test-style lateral flow device diagnostics.
