Portable device to detected COVID-19 are developed

Currently, one of the tests mainly used to suppose an infection by COVID-19 is based on the detection of the presence of IgM and IgG antibodies anti-SARS-CoV-2 in a sample of nasopharyngeal exudate. Despite being a fast and reliable method, patients often report discomfort and even pain at the time of sampling.

An alternative to this type of test has recently emerged: a sensor that integrates a patch with biodegradable porous microneedles (porous MNs) and a colloidal gold immunochromatographic assay (PMNIA). Unlike conventional rapid tests, it works with dermal interstitial fluid, a source of biomarker proteins of different infections, such as antibodies.

The porous microneedles of polylactic acid present in the patch extract the dermal interstitial fluid from the skin, which is transported by capillary effect and flows through micropores to the immunoassay biosensor, where simultaneously 2 to 7 nanograms of specific IgM and IgG anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies are detected respectively, in just 3 minutes by the appearance of a reddish line in the test area.

This diagnostic method for COVID-19 proposes a minimally invasive, painless, simple, and fast alternative that, unlike chromatographic antibody tests, does not require specialized personnel for sampling and, in addition, could be adapted in the future for the detection of other infectious diseases.

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Chhabra, A., Song, H. H. G., Grzelak, K. A., Polacheck, W. J., Fleming, H. E., Chen, C. S., & Bhatia, S. N. (2022). A vascularized model of the human liver mimics regenerative responses. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(28), e2115867119.