One little test tube performs the simplified test in minutes. The researchers stated it might soon be available at doctor’s clinics and as straightforward as a pregnancy test at home with additional refining.
“We are trying to build a home-based test that is as reliable as a lab-based test,” said University of Florida (UF) chemical engineering professor Piyush Jain.
“Our goal is to develop a simple test that eliminates the need for expensive equipment and provides results in 10 to 20 minutes,” said Jain, who led the Cell Reports Medicine study.
The team is developing a one-pot reaction system that conducts the entire test in a tiny test tube. RT-LAMP technique amplifies tiny sections of a virus’s genome to create a detectable signal in these tests.
Scientists employed AI to simplify a hepatitis C and SARS-CoV-2 test.
The researchers claimed these tests may be read by searching for a blue color or using a tiny instrument that detects test tube changes.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized various at-home, one-pot COVID-19 tests for emergency use, although they have a high false positive rate.
“We are combining another technology called CRISPR to determine the difference between a false positive and a true positive,” Jain added.
CRISPR can accelerate genetic engineering advances that could treat hereditary illnesses by correcting genomes.
Jain’s team uses CRISPR to target certain genomic sequences. The test will be positive if the hepatitis viral sequence is present.
CRISPR works best at 37.7 degrees, whereas RT-LAMP needs 65.5 degrees.
Tests need two responses, making them too difficult for household usage.
Jain’s team is building a high-temperature CRISPR technology to address this gap. Researchers found a 60-degree CRISPR enzyme in a heat-loving bacterium.
Jain’s team used AI to analyze this enzyme and find a way to keep it alive at 65.5 degrees Celsius.
Jain’s lab investigated a few hundred enzyme modifications recommended by AI programs. Four enzyme modifications enabled 65.5 degrees.
Enzyme analysis is difficult for humans. “We made these improvements in months, not years,” Jain remarked. “With everything working at the same temperature, we can combine everything in a true one-pot reaction we call SPLENDID,” he said.
The scientists tested its reduced SPLENDID test on hepatitis C and COVID-19 clinical samples. SARS-CoV-2 was 97% accurate and the most common hepatitis C virus was 95% correct. Jain said that the test’s accuracy might be improved by making simple tweaks.