US scientists have successfully developed a small device that enables instant detection of Covid infection from minute traces of antibodies in patients.The research article was published in the journal MedicalXpress. The fastest Covid test at present will roughly take 15 minutes for the result delivery.The simple portable device will add an edge to humanities war on Covid by quickly screening the infected population, greatly reducing virus spread.
A team of specialists led by Mona Zagloul from George Washington University in the District of Columbia,developed the device from a previously invented device that reacts to various types of gases.The team began to develop a variant of the device that could respond to the presence of coronavirus in humans.At the onset of the pandemic,scientists had realized that this invention might have other applications and started modifying the device with a grant of 50 thousand dollars.
The device consists of the thinnest conductors and is covered with a layer of gold.The device’s surface could be coated with a reagent, or a solution containing proteins that bind specifically to the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19. When an infected person’s sample is applied, the virus would bind to the surface, causing an optical change that could immediately be sensed by phone cameras.
The researchers are confident that in the future, their invention will allow creating extensive databases of COVID-19 patients, which specialists will be able to replenish through cloud storage.
According to the latest data from the World Health Organization, there are more than 16.2 million cases of coronavirus infection worldwide.COVID-19 killed more than 6,48455 people around the globe as of July 26,2020.
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