South Korean researchers have developed a new technology for point-of-care diagnosis of COVID-19, according to a study published December 3 in Nature Biomedical Engineering.
The new nano polymerase chain reaction technology -- or what the researchers are calling "nanoPCR" -- can diagnose SARS-CoV-2 infection within 20 minutes with the accuracy of reverse transcription (RT)-PCR testing, according to a team led by Cheon Jinwoo, PhD, of the Center for Nanomedicine at the Institute for Basic Science in Seoul.
The technique improves on RT-PCR testing by using hybrid nanomaterials and a "miniaturized form factor," according to the group; it can detect even a small amount of genes (~3.2 copies/µl) accurately while "amplifying and detecting genetic material with high sensitivity and specificity."
Jinwoo's group tested nanoPCR with 150 patients with or without COVID-19; all were accurately diagnosed, for a sensitivity and specificity of 99%, equivalent to RT-PCR.
