The pandemic coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 in the world has caused a large infected population suffering from COVID-19. To curb the spreading of the virus, WHO urgently demanded an extension of screening and testing; thus, a rapid and simple diagnostic method is needed. We applied a reverse transcription-loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) to achieve the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in 30 min. We designed four sets of LAMP primers (6 primers in each set), targeting the viral RNA of SARS-CoV-2 in the regions of orf1ab, S gene and N gene. A colorimetric change was used to report the results, which enables the outcome of viral RNA amplification to be read by the naked eye without the need of expensive or dedicated instrument. The sensitivity can be 80 copies of viral RNA per ml in a sample. We validated the RT-LAMP method in a hospital in China, employing 16 clinic samples with 8 positives and 8 negatives. The testing results are consistent with the conventional RT-qPCR. In addition, we also show that one-step process without RNA extraction is feasible to achieve RNA amplification directly from a sample. This rapid, simple and sensitive RT-LAMP method paves a way for a large screening at public domain and hospitals, particularly regional hospitals and medical centres in rural areas.

No abstract

We have optimised a reverse transcription-loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) assay for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 from extracted RNA for clinical application. We improved the stability and reliability of the RT-LAMP assay by the addition of a temperature-dependent switch oligonucleotide to reduce self- or off-target amplification. We then developed freeze-dried master mix for single step RT-LAMP reaction, simplifying the operation for end users and improving long-term storage and transportation. The assay can detect as low as 13 copies of SARS-CoV2 RNA per reaction (25-μL). Cross reactivity with other human coronaviruses was not observed. We have applied the new RT-LAMP assay for testing clinical extracted RNA samples extracted from swabs of 72 patients in the UK and 126 samples from Greece and demonstrated the overall sensitivity of 90.2% (95% CI 83.8–94.7%) and specificity of 92.4% (95% CI 83.2–97.5%). Among 115 positive samples which Ct values were less than 34, the RT-LAMP assay was able to detect 110 of them with 95.6% sensitivity. The specificity was 100% when RNA elution used RNase-free water. The outcome of RT-LAMP can be reported by both colorimetric detection and quantifiable fluorescent reading. Objective measures with a digitized reading data flow would allow for the sharing of results for local or national surveillance.

We present an example of applying 'need-driven' product design principle to the development of a rapid test kit to detect SARS-COV-2 (COVID-19). The tests are intended for use in the field and, longer term, for home use. They detect whether a subject is currently infected with the virus and is infectious. The urgent need for large numbers of tests in field setting imposes constraints such as short test time and lack of access to specialist equipment, laboratories and skilled technicians to perform the test and interpret results. To meet these needs, an antigen test based on RT-LAMP with colorimetric readout was chosen. Direct use of swab sample with no RNA extraction was explored. After extensive experimental study (reported elsewhere), a rapid test kit has been fabricated to satisfy all design criteria.

Reverse transcription (RT) – loop‐mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay is a rapid and one‐step method to detect SARS‐CoV‐2 in the pandemic. Quantitative estimation of the viral load of SARS‐CoV‐2 in patient samples could help physicians make decisions on clinical treatment and patient management. Here, we propose to use a quantitative LAMP (qLAMP) method to evaluate the viral load of SARS‐CoV‐2 in samples. We used threshold time (TT) values of qLAMP, the isothermal incubation time required for the fluorescent or colorimetric signal to reach the threshold, to indicate the viral load of clinical samples. Similar to the cycle threshold ( C t ) values in conventional qPCR, TT values of qLAMP show a linear relationship to the copy numbers of SARS‐CoV‐2. The higher the viral loadings, the lower qLAMP TT values are. The RT‐qLAMP assay was demonstrated to quantify the viral loads of synthesized full‐length RNA, inactivated viral particles (BBIBP‐CorV), and clinical samples within 15 min by fluorescent reading and 25 min by colorimetric reading. The RT‐qLAMP has been applied to detect Alpha, Beta, Kappa, Delta, and Omicron variants of SARS‐CoV‐2, as well as the human beta‐actin gene, and their TT values showed the linear patterns. The RT‐qLAMP assays were evaluated by 64 clinical samples (25 positives and 39 negatives) for the assessment of viral loads, and it was also used to quantify the human beta‐actin gene, which was used as a control and an indicator of sampling quality in clinical swab samples. The result of RT‐qLAMP was in good agreement with the result of RT‐qPCR. The RT‐qLAMP assay detected all clinical samples, including those with C t = 35, within 10 min using fluorescent reading.