The COVID-19 pandemic is an ongoing global pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in 2020–2021. COVID-19 is becoming one of the most fatal pandemics in history and brings a huge challenge to the global healthcare system. Opportune detection, confinement, and early treatment of infected cases present the first step in combating COVID-19. Diagnosis via viral nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) is frequently employed and considered the standard procedure. However, with an increasing urge for point-of-care tests, rapid and cheaper immunoassays are widely utilized, such as lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA), which can be used for rapid, early, and large-scale detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection. In this narrative review, the principle and technique of LFIA applied in COVID-19 antigen and antibody detection are introduced. The diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of the commercial LFIA tests are outlined and compared. Generally, LFIA antigen tests for SARS-CoV-2 are less sensitive than viral NAATs, the “gold standard” for clinical COVID-19 diagnosis. However, antigen tests can be used for rapid and mass testing in high-risk congregate housing to quickly identify people with COVID-19, implementing infection prevention and control measures, thus preventing transmission. LFIA anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody tests, IgM and/or IgG, known as serology tests, are used for identification if a person has previously been exposed to the virus or vaccine immunization. Notably, advanced techniques, such as LFT-based CRISPR-Cas9 and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), have added new dimensions to the COVID-19 diagnosis and are also discussed in this review.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, antibodies, SARS-CoV-2, Antigen, lateral flow immunoassay, Lateral flow test, 【초록키워드】 IgG, IgM, coronavirus, SARS-COV-2 infection, COVID-19 pandemic, Transmission, virus, global pandemic, immunoassay, amplification, specificity, Antibody detection, Measures, anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody, serology tests, early treatment, COVID-19 diagnosis, Infection prevention, Pandemics, LFIA, Raman spectroscopy, CRISPR-Cas9, acute respiratory syndrome, viral nucleic acid, point-of-care tests, global healthcare, dimension, Vaccine immunization, combating, identify, caused, applied, can be used, added, less, introduced, The diagnostic sensitivity, infected case, LFIA test, outlined, people with COVID-19, 【제목키워드】 detection, Testing, Rapid, development, Device, Flow, mass, Lateral,