Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic is among the greatest health and socioeconomic crises in recent history. Although COVID-19 vaccines are being distributed, there remains a need for rapid testing to limit viral spread from infected individuals. We previously identified the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein N-terminal domain (NTD) binding DNA aptamer 1 (SNAP1) for detection of SARS-CoV-2 virus by aptamer-antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) and lateral flow assay (LFA). In this work, we identify a new aptamer that also binds at the NTD, named SARS-CoV-2 spike protein NTD-binding DNA aptamer 4 (SNAP4). SNAP4 binds with high affinity (<30 nM) for the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, a 2-fold improvement over SNAP1. Furthermore, we utilized both SNAP1 and SNAP4 in an aptamer sandwich LFA (AptaFlow), which detected SARS-CoV-2 UV-inactivated virus at concentrations as low as 10 6 copies/mL. AptaFlow costs <$1 per test to produce, provides results in <1 h, and detects SARS-CoV-2 at concentrations that indicate higher viral loads and a high probability of contagious transmission. AptaFlow is a potential approach for a low-cost, convenient antigen test to aid the control of the COVID-19 pandemic.
【초록키워드】 SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 vaccine, COVID-19 pandemic, SARS-CoV-2 virus, Transmission, viral spread, virus, ELISA, Spike protein, Antigen, aptamer, lateral flow, Probability, immunoassay, DNA, COVID-19 vaccines, Health, Viral, Viral load, SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, NTD, binding, N-terminal domain, Concentration, infected individuals, high affinity, contagious, approach, limit, bind, identify, detect, provide, the SARS-CoV-2, 【제목키워드】 SARS-CoV-2, detection, Flow, Sandwich, Lateral,