Can Pregnancy Tests Help Beat COVID-19?

TL;DR

Lateral flow assays, similar to pregnancy tests, can be used to test various water-based liquids for proteins, including pathogens. Scientists are currently developing COVID-19 tests using this method.

Transcript

Hi this is David from MinuteEarth. Let’s say - just hypothetically of course

• that there was a global pandemic. To stop its spread, we’d need to develop a test that could quickly, cheaply and effectively identify infected people. Luckily, that test already exists at your local drug store: it’s called an early pregnancy test. Ok - you can’t just pe... Read More

Key Insights

• 💐 Lateral flow assays rely on capillary action to draw liquid through a testing strip.
• 🤩 Antibodies are key components of lateral flow assays, allowing for the detection of specific proteins.
• 💐 COVID-19 lateral flow assays are being developed, but antibody selection is crucial to avoid inaccurate results.
• 💦 OIST's Micro/Bio/Nanofluidics lab is working on a blood test using microfluidics to combine the benefits of lateral flow assays and more complex optical assays for COVID-19 antibody detection.

Questions & Answers

Q: How do lateral flow assays work?

Lateral flow assays utilize capillary action to draw liquid through a testing strip, while specific antibodies detect proteins and produce visible results.

Q: What are the applications of lateral flow assays?

Lateral flow assays can be used to test various water-based liquids, such as saliva, eggs, and drinking water, for the presence of specific proteins, including pathogens.

Q: How are antibodies used in lateral flow assays?

Antibodies that are specific to proteins of interest are mass-produced, dyed, and deployed along the testing strip. If the protein is present in the liquid, the dyed antibodies will bind to it and produce a visible result.

Q: What challenges do scientists face in developing COVID-19 lateral flow assays?

Scientists must choose antibodies that are specific enough to detect the COVID-19 virus but not too specific to cause false positives or false negatives.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Lateral flow assays, like pregnancy tests, use capillary action to draw water-based liquids through a testing strip.

• Antibodies specific to proteins are dyed and deployed along the test strip, allowing for the detection of proteins in the liquid.

• Scientists are working on developing lateral flow assays to test saliva for COVID-19, optimizing the selection of antibodies to avoid false positives or negatives.