UW researchers lead development of rapid test for detecting COVID-19

Two University of Wyoming researchers have developed a COVID-19 antigen test that is more sensitive than those currently on the market. The test can use a hand-held device to be read, making the test appropriate for diagnosis at the point of care within 30 minutes.

“Our test detects the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, and the time to result for our test is on par with other tests that detect SARS-CoV-2 proteins,” Assistant Professor in the UW Department of Chemical Engineering Karen Wawrousek said. “Our test is more sensitive than those rapid tests because of the design of the assay and the detection method we use.”

In a report, UW explained that an assay, which is a process of analyzing a substance to determine its composition or quality, was developed using single-chain variable fragments (scFvs) to detect the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.

According to the UW report, Wawrousek is a co-corresponding author of a paper titled “Rapid, Point-of-Care scFv-SERS Assay for Femtogram Level Detection of SARS-CoV-2” that was published in ACS Sensors March 10. Moein Mohammadi, a UW Ph.D. student in chemical engineering, is a co-first author of the paper. The other first author is Delphine Antoine, a postdoctoral researcher at the National University of Ireland (NUI) Galway.

The assay is not yet being used as a test for clinical samples and does not have Food and Drug Administration emergency use authorization approval, according to the university.

“We will work with the Wyoming Public Health Laboratory to test the assay on clinical samples,” Wawrousek said. “The format of the assay is different from the standard lateral flow antigen test, so we are thinking about how to best scale up production.”