Key words: SARS-CoV-2, Diagnostics, RT-LAMP, Pandemic
The novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, has rapidly spread across the globe since emerging in December 2019. To control its spread, it is critical to employ effective diagnostic tools. In a recent study, researchers examined reverse transcription-loop mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) as a diagnostic tool for SARS-CoV-2. The researchers measured RT-LAMP’s speed, accuracy, and sensitivity in detecting SARS-CoV-2 in comparison with quantitative reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Currently, qRT-PCR is the most widely used clinical diagnostic tool.
Overall, the researchers observed that RT-LAMP was faster than qRT-PCR by 30 minutes. Their experiments, however, demonstrated that RT-LAMP was less sensitive than qRT-PCR. This indicates that RT-LAMP is not as effective when viral particles are present at lower concentrations. The researchers also observed that overall, both diagnostic tools were able to accurately discern between SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses. However, RT-LAMP incorrectly diagnosed 2 of the 140 non-SARS-CoV-2 samples as positive.
The authors suggest that RT-LAMP can be used as a preliminary screening diagnosis with a subsequent confirmatory diagnosis using qRT-PCR. The study’s findings are important because RT-LAMP has a simpler methodology, lower cost, and faster output than qRT-PCR. For these reasons, it can reduce diagnostic wait times and ultimately, help mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
References
Baek Y. H. et al. (2020). Development of a reverse transcription-loop-mediated isothermal amplification as a rapid early-detection method for novel SARS-CoV-2. Emerging microbes & infections, 9(1), 998-1007.
Zoya Adeel is a student at McMaster University studying Honours Life Sciences, Class of 2021