Unified platform for genetic and serological detection of COVID-19 with single-molecule technology.

• Main Authors: Noa Furth, Shay Shilo, Niv Cohen, Nir Erez, Vadim Fedyuk, Alexander M Schrager, Adina Weinberger, Amiel A Dror, Asaf Zigron, Mona Shehadeh, Eyal Sela, Samer Srouji, Sharon Amit, Itzchak Levy, Eran Segal, Rony Dahan, Dan Jones, Daniel C Douek, Efrat Shema
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2021-01-01
• Series: PLoS ONE
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0255096

The COVID-19 pandemic raises the need for diverse diagnostic approaches to rapidly detect different stages of viral infection. The flexible and quantitative nature of single-molecule imaging technology renders it optimal for development of new diagnostic tools. Here we present a proof-of-concept for a single-molecule based, enzyme-free assay for detection of SARS-CoV-2. The unified platform we developed allows direct detection of the viral genetic material from patients' samples, as well as their immune response consisting of IgG and IgM antibodies. Thus, it establishes a platform for diagnostics of COVID-19, which could also be adjusted to diagnose additional pathogens.