As the coronavirus pandemic progresses, the scientific community has dedicated itself to finding the best treatment to fight the disease, and now a group of experts from Johns Hopkins University is developing a system to use glucose monitors to detect COVID-antibodies. 19.
The trio of scientists made up of pharmacologist
Netz Arroyo
, biomedical engineer
Jamie Spangler
, and biophysicist
Taekjip Ha
, are combining their knowledge to design a device that can detect if a person has antibodies, tiny proteins that the immune system produces to ' remembering 'viral encounters and providing immunity to future infections, related to SARS-CoV-2.
But to develop an antibody detector that can be deployed quickly and inexpensively around the world, the specialists were inspired by a tool that is already used by millions of people: a glucose monitor.
While people with diabetes use it to measure their blood sugar levels by taking a small sample of blood from their finger and placing it on a paper test strip that is inserted into the monitor, this same type of tool could be reconfigured to detect if there is an immune response to the coronavirus.
"What they have done is to create a way to be able to do the
test
with a drop of blood to verify if there is an immune response or immune memory to a previous infection", in this case, to the coronavirus, explained Dr.
Felipe Lobelo
, epidemiologist and an expert in population health, to Un Nuevo Día.
Watch the related video:
Scientist details how is the treatment of COVID-19 with antibodies tested in humans
How does it work
First, Arroyo, Spangler, and Ha developed a test strip containing the 'spike' protein from the surface of SARS-CoV-2.
They then add a drop of blood from a patient, and the proteins on the test strip tips bind to the COVID-19-related antibodies present in the blood.
Next, experts dip the strip into a tube with an enzyme that binds to COVID-19 antibodies.
Now, after washing off the excess enzyme, the scientists insert the strip into a solution that contains a molecule that the enzyme converts to glucose.
Lastly, a commercial glucose monitor reads the amount of glucose present on the test strip, which functions as a surrogate for COVID-19 antibodies present in the patient's blood sample.
"Learning from the present and planning for the future, we are seeking the development of a biosensor platform that will hopefully help us monitor the spread of infection for current and future national epidemics," Arroyo told the news portal of the Johns Hopkins University.
Meanwhile, researchers continue to refine this new system that could give new hope in the fight against the coronavirus that has claimed more than a million deaths worldwide, according to the Johns Hopkins University real-time map.
"Hopefully they can develop this
test
in masses and that the FDA can approve it, and that it can begin to be used in homes, in hospitals and in places where there is an agglomeration of people," said Lobelo.
See also:
People with diabetes are at higher risk of dying from COVID-19, study reveals
Coronavirus: FDA approves use of convalescent plasma as treatment
Does using steroids to treat COVID-19 reduce death rates?
Related Video: How Effective Is COVID-19 Antibody Plasma Treatment?
