Low-Cost and Scalable Platform with Multiplexed Microwell Array Biochip for Rapid Diagnosis of COVID-19

• Published in: Research (Washington) Vol. 2021; p. 2813643
• Main Authors: Wang, Yang, Li, Kaiju, Xu, Gaolian, Chen, Chuan, Song, Guiqin, Dong, Zaizai, Lin, Long, Wang, Yu, Xu, Zhiyong, Yu, Mingxia, Yu, Xinge, Ying, Binwu, Fan, Yubo, Chang, Lingqian, Geng, Jia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States AAAS 2021; American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
• ISSN: 2639-5274; 2639-5274
• DOI: 10.34133/2021/2813643

Sensitive detection of SARS-CoV-2 is of great importance for inhibiting the current pandemic of COVID-19. Here, we report a simple yet efficient platform integrating a portable and low-cost custom-made detector and a novel microwell array biochip for rapid and accurate detection of SARS-CoV-2. The instrument exhibits expedited amplification speed that enables colorimetric read-out within 25 minutes. A polymeric chip with a laser-engraved microwell array was developed to process the reaction between the primers and the respiratory swab RNA extracts, based on reverse transcriptase loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP). To achieve clinically acceptable performance, we synthesized a group of six primers to identify the conserved regions of the ORF1ab gene of SARS-CoV-2. Clinical trials were conducted with 87 PCR-positive and 43 PCR-negative patient samples. The platform demonstrated both high sensitivity (95.40%) and high specificity (95.35%), showing potentials for rapid and user-friendly diagnosis of COVID-19 among many other infectious pathogens.