New Faster, Cheaper COVID-19 Test Kit Receives Scientific Seal of Approval

The researchers suggest that the test can be deployed in remote locations, clinics and airports because of its ease of use and portability.

Researchers at Simon Fraser University have validated a faster, cheaper COVID-19 test that could spur the expansion of more widespread rapid tests. The study results are published in The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics.

“This research offers a cheaper, faster alternative to the most reliable and sensitive assay currently in use worldwide, without sacrificing sensitivity and reproducibility,” said molecular biology and biochemistry professor Peter Unrau, who led the team that created the COVID-19 test kit.

The researchers suggest that the test can be deployed in remote locations, clinics and airports because of its ease of use and portability.

The real-time microchip PCR test can provide accurate results in 30 minutes and requires 10 times less reagents than the tube-based RT-PCR tests approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Shortages of reagents and test kits in the supply chain during the pandemic slowed the rapid expansion of clinical trials. This new COVID-19 test kit is another tool in the toolbox that uses less of the stock-limited reagents to achieve fast and accurate results.

Unrau first evaluated the test sensitivity in the lab together with PhD student Razvan Cojocaru and master student Iqra Yaseen.

The test kit was then sent to a clinical team at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver to determine whether it could detect COVID-19 in patient samples. The results of the microchip PCR COVID-19 test kit are in line with hospital test results – demonstrating its effectiveness.

The kit is pre-loaded with COVID-19 primers and probes, making it easy to use, reducing the risk of user error and improving the reliability of test results.

Developed by Mission BC-based Lumex Instruments Canada and validated by the Unrau team, the COVID-19 detection kits are low power (100 watts), compact, lightweight and available internationally.

Reference: “Microchip RT-PCR Detection of Nasopharyngeal SARS-CoV-2 Specimens” By Razvan Cojocaru, Iqra Yaseen, Peter J. Unrau, Christopher F. Lowe, Gordon Ritchie, Marc G. Romney, Don D. Sin, Sikander Gill and Maxim Slyadnev, Mar 8, 2021, The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics.
DOI: 10.1016 / j.jmoldx.2021.02.009