Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder have developed a rapid COVID-19 saliva test that returns results in 45 minutes. They have now spun off a company to market the test.
Medical professionals across the country have been working to develop a rapid COVID test, which would help reduce the spread of the virus because those who test positive can quickly isolate themselves before infecting others.
“We are facing a severe test shortage in this country right now as more people want to be tested and diagnostic laboratories are overwhelmed,” Nicholas Meyerson, a postdoctoral associate at the Sawyer Laboratory at the BioFrontiers Institute, said in a report. at CU Boulder. from CU. “We have developed a test that could give people results much faster.”
The test is designed for widespread screening to help identify asymptomatic individuals. Research shows that people infected with the virus but without obvious symptoms account for up to 70% of cases and can still transmit the disease.
In this test, a user spits into a tube, adds a solution to stabilize it, then closes the lid and gives it to test employees. They process it through a system that requires little more than pipettes, a heating source, and a mixture of enzymes.
If the sample changes from pink to yellow, the test is positive. If not, it is negative.
Because swabs are not required, and no elaborate equipment is needed, the tests are less vulnerable to delays and supply chain shortages, the researchers said.
“Every test that has been approved to date requires that the sample, even if it is saliva, be processed in a clinical diagnostic laboratory or in a doctor’s office, using sophisticated equipment. That can take up to nine days right now, “said Sara Sawyer, a professor and virologist at the Department of Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology, who led the development of the test.
Meyerson said the initial tests resulted in a high degree of precision. Additional third-party validation tests are underway.
The research team, in cooperation with Venture Partners at CU Boulder, has created a spin-off, Darwin Biosciences, to market the test.
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