American biologists have developed a new Misherlock diagnostic platform, allowing to determine various strains of coronavirus in saliva. The results of the study are published in the journal Science Advances.
The basis of the new test is the technology of crupr genetic editing technology. According to scientists, the system is now able to determine the British, South African and Brazilian strains of SARS-COV-2. At the same time, the platform is easy to program on the detection of new COVID-19 variations. The accuracy of the results is 95 percent.
To use Misherlock, the user needs a set of reagents, a smartphone with a camera and an application, as well as a battery and a plastic incubator. The result of the test can be obtained in one hour. According to developers, this portable system is so simple that it can be used at home, and the cost of the platform is about 15 US dollars.
Previously, scientists from the university in Melbourne (Australia) found a way to stop the reproduction of coronavirus. For successful locking SARS-COV-2 in human infected cells, they used CRISPR gene editing technology.