A team of researchers from RIKEN, the University of Tokyo and other institutions announced Monday that they have developed technology that can determine within five minutes if a person is infected with the novel coronavirus from a saliva sample.
The cost of the testing is expected to be comparable to that of PCR testing. The team aims to develop automatic testing equipment by the end of this fiscal year and make it available for practical use in a few years.
In PCR testing, a process is required that increases the genetic information of the virus contained in a sample such as saliva, and takes about one hour to produce a result.
The team's method uses a certain reagent that, when added to a sample containing the novel coronavirus, immediately binds to the genetic information and produces fluorescence. The sample is then placed on a microchip containing one million holes per square centimeter, and if fluorescence is detected under a microscope in more than 10 holes, it is determined to be infected.
As influenza virus infections can be detected through the same method, the team is looking into developing a device that can test for both influenza and the novel coronavirus simultaneously. "We want to come up with a device that can be used in general hospitals," said team member Rikiya Watanabe, the chief scientist at RIKEN.
Kazuya Kabayama, associate professor of biochemistry at Osaka University, said: "The device is highly useful in testing not only for the novel coronavirus, but also for general viruses. It is necessary to make it affordable to assure widespread use."
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