Experts seem to agree that the way to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) that causes the COVID-19 disease is by early diagnosis and management. Scientists all over the world are racing to develop fast, accurate COVID-19 tests. Until now, most COVID-19 tests relied on reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). This test uses a swab from a patient, then amplifies the virus so that it is more easily detected and takes at least three hours to produce results.
Edmond Changkyun Park, Seung Il Kim and colleagues set out to design a faster test that could analyze patient swabs without the extra preparation required for PCR analysis. The researchers reported that they were able to develop a test that produces results in less than a minute in the journal, ACS Nano.
The researchers used a sheet of graphene with high electrical conductivity (called a field-effect transistor) and attached SARS-CoV-2 antibodies to the graphene. Then they added either purified spike protein or cultured SARS-CoV-2 virus to the sensor, which caused it to bind to the antibody and caused a change in the electrical current. Then they tried their technique on COVID-19 patient swabs. The sensor could tell the difference between samples from sick patients and healthy ones. This new test is about 2-4 times less sensitive than RT-PCR, but with different materials, the researchers believe those results can be improved.