Urine Diagnostics for Infectious Disease

RT-LAMP Detection of SARS-CoV-2 (novel coronavirus)

Novel Corona virus/Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (also known as SARS-CoV-2 or 2019-nCoV) and the resulting disease (COVID-19) are an emerging global health concern that requires a rapid diagnostic test. COVID-19 can transmit rapidly between individuals, result in serious illness and death, and can be transmitted before patients are symptomatic. Thus COVID-19 has been a disease of international concern.

Using cutting edge technology, our group has developed a simple rapid diagnostic test that can be completed in under 30 minutes without specialized equipment. This test works for testing in human urine, serum, saliva, or respiratory samples.

For information on the COVID-19 outbreak, visit the CDC Information hub. If you want to learn more about our rapid testing method, please follow these links:

• PLOS ONE
• SSRN
• medRxiv

RT-LAMP Detection of Zika virus

Zika virus was one of the largest medical news stories of 2016; carried by mosquitoes, the infection is usually mild or asymptomatic in adults, but can cause severe birth defects during pregnancy. Zika is usually detected via quantitative PCR, but this method is time consuming and requires specific instruments.

The Zika viral genome is not degraded in the urine of those infected; we sought to detect Zika in patient urine in order to aid in rapid diagnosis. We utilized RT-LAMP PCR to detect Zika virus and Dengue virus in human urine. this method is preferred as it is a rapid test (~30 minutes) and takes place at a stable temperature, instead of fluctuating between temperatures like conventional PCR. We were able to detect Zika viral DNA down to 1 copy.