The gold standard for the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19, is real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which is labor-intensive, expensive, and not widely available in resource-poor settings. Therefore, it is imperative to develop novel, accurate, affordable, and easily accessible assays/sensors to diagnose and isolate COVID-19 cases. To address this unmet need, we utilized the catalytic potential of peroxidase-like DNAzyme and developed a simple visual detection assay for SARS-CoV-2 RNA using a conventional thermal cycler by the PCR-induced generation of DNAzyme sensor. The performance of RT-PCR DNAzyme-based sensor was comparable to that of real-time PCR. The pilot scale validation of RT-PCR DNAzyme-based sensor has shown ~100% sensitivity and specificity in clinical specimens (nasopharyngeal swab, n = 34), with a good correlation (Spearman r = 0.799) with the Ct-value of fluorescence probe-based real-time PCR. These findings clearly indicate the potential of this inexpensive, sensitive, and specific molecular diagnostic test to extend our testing capabilities for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 to curtail COVID-19 transmission.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, sensor, DNAZyme, Colorimetric assay, real-time-PCR, 【초록키워드】 diagnostic, RT-PCR, Nasopharyngeal swab, PCR, Sensitivity and specificity, Real-time PCR, Ct-value, SARS-CoV-2 RNA, molecular, correlation, diagnose, COVID-19 cases, COVID-19 transmission, unmet need, gold standard, specimen, Spearman, polymerase chain, shown, develop, imperative, comparable, catalytic, curtail, diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2, labor-intensive, 【제목키워드】 detection, SARS-CoV-2 RNA, Visual, Generation, Conventional,