Open AccessMinute-scale detection of SARS-CoV-2 using a low-cost biosensor composed of pencil graphite electrodes
Author(s) -
Lucas F. de Lima,
André Ferreira,
Marcelo Der Torossian Torres,
Wanderley Pereira de Araújo,
César de la Fuente-Núñez
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.2106724118
Subject(s) - covid-19 , medicine , coronavirus , reproducibility , virology , computer science , nanotechnology , materials science , pathology , chemistry , infectious disease (medical specialty) , chromatography , disease
Significance High-frequency testing is urgently needed to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Here, we introduce Low-cost Electrochemical Advanced Diagnostic (LEAD), a diagnostic test that detects SARS-CoV-2 within 6.5 min, costs $1.50 per unit, and uses easily assembled materials such as human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, modified graphite leads, and a plastic vial. LEAD presents sensitivity comparable to the gold-standard methods (limit of detection for the viral spike protein = 229 fg⋅mL -1 ) and displays an excellent performance profile when tested using clinical saliva (100.0% sensitivity, 100.0% specificity, 100.0% accuracy) and nasopharyngeal/oropharyngeal (88.7% sensitivity, 86.0% specificity, 87.4% accuracy) samples. Finally, no cross-reactivity with other viruses was detected and the test displayed a viable shelf-life of 5 d when stored at 4 °C.