Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) refers to pneumonia caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. The disease is highly contagious and can spread rapidly to the respiratory tract through close contact with an infected person by talking, coughing, and sneezing. The outbreak of COVID-19 has led to a large number of infections and deaths and disrupted normal social activities. Public health experts emphasize that accurate and early detection of SARS-CoV-2 is essential to reduce the risk of transmission through rapid isolation and contact tracing. Under this background, the detection techniques and methods for improving the efficiency of disease diagnosis have emerged.
Figure 1. Timeline of the spread and development of SARS-CoV-2 [1].
Introduction of SARS-CoV-2
SARS-CoV-2 is an enveloped positive single-stranded RNA genome (26~32 kb) virus belonging to a genus of the Coronaviridae family. It has a diameter of 60 ~ 140 nm, with spike like projections on the surface and a crown like appearance under an electron microscope. SARS-CoV-2 particles contain four structural proteins, namely, nucleocapsid (N) protein, envelope (E) protein, membrane (M) protein, and spike (S) protein. The N protein contains the RNA genome of the virus, while the E, M, and S proteins together form the envelope of the virus.
Figure 2. Schematic of structure of SARS-CoV-2.
Detection of COVID-19
The clinical manifestation of COVID-19 may be asymptomatic, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or multiorgan failure, and these symptoms vary from person to person. Therefore, the accurate diagnosis of COVID-19 is challenging. Current detection methods are mainly molecular-based that detect nucleic acid abundance, such as quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) or reverse-transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP); or immunologically based that detect the presence of antigen or antibody in patient specimens, such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), lateral flow assay, and chemiluminescence immunoassay [2]. The figure below shows the possible detection methods or techniques.
Figure 3. Schematic representation of various analytical methods available for SARS-CoV-2 detection [3].
Our products
Nucleic acid detection, antigen detection and antibody detection are key tools for the diagnosis of COVID-19. Alfa Chemistry has the expertise and experience to provide you with the various raw materials needed in the diagnostic process. According to different detection methods, our products are classified as follows.
References
- Zhang, X.; et al. Advances in laboratory detection methods and technology application of SARS‐CoV‐2. Journal of Medical Virology. 2022, 94(4): 1357-1365.
- Alhamid, G.; et al. SARS-CoV-2 detection methods: A comprehensive review. Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences. 2022: 103465.
- Rai, P.; et al. Detection technologies and recent developments in the diagnosis of COVID-19 infection. Applied microbiology and biotechnology. 2021, 105: 441-455.
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