The emerging Corona virus, which causes Covid-19 disease, continues to spread throughout the world, albeit to a lesser extent, despite the development of dozens of vaccines and medicines.
To limit the spread of the virus, infected individuals must be identified. Researchers from Japan have developed a new method based on antibodies for the rapid and reliable detection of antibodies without the need to take a blood sample, according to “medicalxpress.com”, citing research published by the University of Tokyo.
Ineffective diagnosis of HIV infection severely limits the global response to the epidemic. The high rate of asymptomatic HIV infection (between 16% and 38%) further exacerbated this situation.
The current virus detection method is based on taking a sample through a nose or throat swab. However, this method is limited by the long detection time (4-6 hours), high cost, and the need for specialized equipment and medical personnel, especially in resource-limited countries.
An alternative way to confirm COVID-19 is to look for antibodies to the virus in the blood. Test strips based on gold nanoparticles are currently widely used in many countries. It gives sensitive and reliable results within 10-20 minutes. But it does require blood samples taken by prick the finger with a lancet. This is painful and increases the risk of cross infection.
Lili Bao of the University of Tokyo’s Institute of Industrial Sciences, lead author of the new research, explains that “to develop a detection test that would avoid these drawbacks, we explored the idea of sampling and testing histological fluid (ISF), which is present in the epidermal and dermis layers of human skin even though antibody levels Antibodies in this fluid range from about 15% to 25% compared to antibodies in the blood. However, detection of antibodies to the virus remains possible and the tissue fluid can be a direct alternative to blood sampling.”
The tissue fluid or interstitial fluid is a fluid that results from the filtering of blood through the capillaries, according to what was stated in the electronic encyclopedia “Wikipedia”.
After demonstrating that the tissue fluid could be suitable for antibody detection, the researchers developed an innovative approach to fluid sampling and testing.
“First, we developed biodegradable porous microneedles made of polylactic acid that draw tissue fluid from human skin,” explains Pomjoon Kim, senior author. -2″.
By combining these two components, the researchers created a compressed patch capable of detecting antibodies to the virus within 3 minutes (according to the result of lab tests).
This new detection device has great potential that is safe and acceptable to patients for rapid screening of Covid and many other infectious diseases.
Researchers see this method as promising for use in many countries.
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