As the world reels under the second wave of the COVID-19 virus, experts and scientists the world over are looking out for ways to be two steps ahead of the virus, so that we can win the battle against the pandemic.
Innovative self-testing method for the COVID-19 virus is one such method and the need of the hour where one can get easy and quick results. In India, the ICMR-approved COVID-19 self-test kit can provide results for infection in just 15 minutes.
On the other hand, recently researchers from the University of Florida and Taiwan's National Chiao Tung University, have developed a rapid and sensitive testing method for COVID-19 biomarkers, according to the American Institute of Physics.
Interestingly, their sensor system provides detection within one second. The system is described in a study in the 'Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology B'.
How the test is conducted
The test uses a biosensor strip that is similar to commercially available glucose test strips in shape.
At the tip is a small microfluidic channel to introduce the test fluid.
Sensor strips are connected to a circuit board via a connector and a short electrical test signal gets sent between the gold electrode bonded with the COVID-19 antibody and another auxiliary electrode.
This signal is then returned to the circuit board for analysis.
While the system's sensor strips must be discarded after use, the test circuit board is reusable. This can reduce the cost of testing.
