Indian scientists develop low cost diagnostic test kit for COVID-19
- Posted By
10Pointer
- Categories
Science & Technology
- Published
17th Apr, 2020
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- A research institute in Kerala has developed a new, faster and cheaper diagnostic test for COVID-19 which could be a major breakthrough.
- Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology in Thiruvananthapuram, under the Department of Science and Technology, has developed an innovative diagnostic test kit named, Chitra Gene LAMP-N for the diagnosis of COVID-19.
- This detects the N-Gene of virus using reverse tranase loop-mediated amplification of viral nucleic acid or RT-LAMP technique.
- This new kit is considered as one of the first few confirmatory diagnostic test for N-gene of COVID-19 virus using the RT-LAMP technique in the world.
- The test is highly specific that it can detect two regions of the gene which will ensure that the test does not fail even if one region of the viral gene undergoes mutation during its current spread.
- Another major advantage of the new test kit is that it very fast. According to the institute, the detection time is only 10 minutes and the sample to result time will be less than two hours.
- The institute has also developed the specific RNA extraction kits along with Gene LAMP-N test kits and the testing device.
- National Institute of Virology, Alappuzha had found that the new technique is giving cent per cent accurate result and now the ICMR approval for the same is awaited.
