Molecular test for COVID-19 diagnosis based on a colorimetric genomagnetic assay

Highlights

• A fast and accurate molecular colorimetric test for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in saliva.

• The genetic assay can be conducted in microtubes or in 96-well microplates for high-throughput diagnostics.

• The colorimetric test was used to discriminate patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 from healthy controls.

Abstract

The world is in a long pandemic period caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus and massive diagnostic tests to assist efforts to control the spread of the disease and also to avoid new coronavirus variants are still needed. Herein, we propose a simple and accurate saliva-based colorimetric test for the diagnosis of COVID-19. Magnetic beads (MBs) modified with a sequence of single-strand DNA (ssDNA) complementary to the N gene of the SARS-CoV-2 RNA were developed and used for magnetic capture and separation from a complex saliva sample. A second biotinylated ssDNA sequence was applied, and the colorimetric detection was carried out by adding streptavidin-horseradish peroxidase conjugate, H₂O_2, and tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) as chromogenic substrate. The test does not require viral RNA isolation, transcription, or amplification steps and can be performed at room temperature. The molecular assay test can be run using 96-well microplates, allowing the diagnosis of a large number of samples in 90 min. A simple support for magnets was designed and constructed using a 3D printer that allows the magnetic separations directly in the 96-well microplate. The colorimetric test showed an excellent ability to discriminate between healthy individuals and patients infected with SARS-CoV-2, with 92% and 100% of clinical sensitivity and specificity, respectively. This performance was similar to that achieved using the gold standard RT-PCR technique. The proposed genomagnetic assay offers an opportunity to greatly increase population testing, contribute to controlling the spread of the virus, and improve health equity in testing for COVID-19.