Researchers in Canada using algae to produce low-cost COVID-19 test kits
- Posted By
10Pointer
- Categories
Science & Technology
- Published
4th May, 2020
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- Researchers in Canada are using algae to rapidly develop low-cost serological test kits for COVID-19 that they say would determine if someone has been infected with the novel coronavirus.
- The new method overcomes shortfalls of existing processes while saving money, according to the researchers from the University of Western Ontario in Canada.
- The team collaborated with Canadian integrated energy company Suncor to develop algae as a production factory to make necessary proteins to identify COVID-19 antibodies in someone previously infected with the disease.
- One of the limiting factors in developing large-scale serological testing is the ability to make significant quantities of the viral proteins on a cost-effective basis.
- Current tests rely on proteins made in reagents such as insect or mammalian cells which are expensive and difficult to scale.
- According to the researchers, algae are cheap to grow and can easily be engineered to produce the viral proteins.