Recent advances in point of care testing for COVID-19 detection

• Published in: Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy Vol. 153; p. 113538
• Main Authors: Fernandes, Renata Salgado, de Oliveira Silva, Juliana, Gomes, Karina Braga, Azevedo, Ricardo Bentes, Townsend, Danyelle M., de Paula Sabino, Adriano, Branco de Barros, Andre Luis
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: France Elsevier Masson SAS 01.09.2022; The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Masson SAS; Elsevier
• Subjects: Clinical Laboratory Techniques - methods; COVID-19; COVID-19 - diagnosis; COVID-19 Testing; CRISPR; Diagnosis; Humans; Immunoassay; Molecular Diagnostic Techniques - methods; Nanobiosensors; Pandemics; Point-of-Care Testing; Review; RNA, Viral; RT-LAMP; RT-PCR; SARS-CoV-2; SARS-CoV-2 - genetics; Sensitivity and Specificity; endoRNase; Point-of-care testing; Immunoassay; NAAT; RT-RAA; LFB; CoV; AuNIs; COVID-19; ddPCR; SARS-CoV-2; POCT; RT-PCR; Nanobiosensors; IC; RT-RPA; Diagnosis; CLIA; cdPCR; CRISPR; mRT-LAMP; mdPCR; SARS; SPIAs; LSPR; ssRNA; ANVISA; RT-LAMP; ACE2; FET; dPCR; NSP1 −NSP16; sgRNA; ICT; NGS; MERS; dsDNA; ELISA
• ISSN: 0753-3322; 1950-6007
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2022.113538

The World Health Organizations declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic was a milestone for the scientific community. The high transmission rate and the huge number of deaths, along with the lack of knowledge about the virus and the evolution of the disease, stimulated a relentless search for diagnostic tests, treatments, and vaccines. The main challenges were the differential diagnosis of COVID-19 and the development of specific, rapid, and sensitive tests that could reach all people. RT-PCR remains the gold standard for diagnosing COVID-19. However, new methods, such as other molecular techniques and immunoassays emerged. Also, the need for accessible tests with quick results boosted the development of point of care tests (POCT) that are fast, and automated, with high precision and accuracy. This assay reduces the dependence on laboratory conditions and mass testing of the population, dispersing the pressure regarding screening and detection. This review summarizes the advances in the diagnostic field since the pandemic started, emphasizing various laboratory techniques for detecting COVID-19. We reviewed the main existing diagnostic methods, as well as POCT under development, starting with RT-PCR detection, but also exploring other nucleic acid techniques, such as digital PCR, loop-mediated isothermal amplification-based assay (RT-LAMP), clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR), and next-generation sequencing (NGS), and immunoassay tests, and nanoparticle-based biosensors, developed as portable instruments for the rapid standard diagnosis of COVID-19. [Display omitted] •COVID-19 pandemic has opened new avenues in the area of infectious disease diagnosis.•The main challenge was the development of specific, rapid, and sensitive.•POCT are fast, and automated, with high precision and accuracy.•POCT will be crucial to the early detection of patients and monitoring case numbers.