A Portable Screening Device for SARS-CoV-2 with Smartphone Readout

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, great emphasis has been placed on the development of rapid virus detection devices, the principle of operation of many of which is the detection of the virus structural protein spike. Although several such devices have been developed, most are based on the visual observation of the result, without providing the possibility of its electrical processing. This paper presents a biosensor platform for the rapid detection of spike proteinboth in laboratory conditions and in swab samples from hospitalized patients. The platform consists of a microcontroller-based readout circuit, which measures the capacitance change generated in an interdigitated electrode transducer by the presence of the spike protein. The circuit efficiency is calibrated by its correlation with the capacitance measurement of an LCR meter. The test result is made available in less than 2 min through the microcontroller’s LCD screen, and at the same time, the collected data are sent wirelessly to a mobile application interface. In this way, the continuous and effective screening of SARS-CoV-2 patients is facilitated and enhanced, providing big data statistics of COVID-19 in terms of space and time

A Biosensor Platform for Point-of-Care SARS-CoV-2 Screening

The COVID-19 pandemic remains a constant threat to human health, the economy, and social relations. Scientists around the world are constantly looking for new technological tools to deal with the pandemic. Such tools are the rapid virus detection tests, which are constantly evolving and optimizing. This paper presents a biosensor platform for the rapid detection of spike protein both in laboratory conditions and in swab samples from hospitalized patients. It is a continuation and improvement of our previous work and consists of a microcontroller-based readout circuit, which measures the capacitance change generated in an interdigitated electrode transducer by the presence either of sole spike protein or the presence of SARS-CoV-2 particles in swab samples. The circuit efficiency is calibrated by its correlation with the capacitance measurement of an LCR (inductance (L), capacitance (C), and resistance (R)) meter. The test result is made available in less than 2 min through the microcontroller’s LCD (liquid-crystal display) screen, whereas at the same time, the collected data are sent wirelessly to a mobile application interface. The novelty of this research lies in the potential it offers for continuous and effective screening of SARS-CoV-2 patients, which is facilitated and enhanced, providing big data statistics of COVID-19 in terms of space and time. This device can be used by individuals for SARS-CoV-2 testing at home, by health professionals for patient monitoring, and by public health agencies for monitoring the spatio-temporal spread of the virus