The aggressive outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) as COVID-19 (coronavirus disease-2019) pandemic demands rapid and simplified testing tools for its effective management. Increased mass testing and surveillance are crucial for controlling the disease spread, obtaining better pandemic statistics, and developing realistic epidemiological models. Despite the advantages of nucleic acid- and antigen-based tests such as accuracy, specificity, and non-invasive approaches of sample collection, they can only detect active infections. Antibodies (immunoglobulins) are produced by the host immune system within a few days after infection and persist in the blood for at least several weeks after infection resolution. Antibody-based tests have provided a substitute and effective method of ultra-rapid detection for multiple contagious disease outbreaks in the past, including viral diseases such as SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome). Thus, although not highly suitable for early diagnosis, antibody-based methods can be utilized to detect past infections hidden in the population, including asymptomatic ones. In an active community spread scenario of a disease that can provide a bigger window for mass detections and a practical approach for continuous surveillance. These factors encouraged researchers to investigate means of improving antibody-based rapid tests and employ them as reliable, reproducible, sensitive, specific, and economic tools for COVID-19 mass testing and surveillance. The development and integration of such immunoglobulin-based tests can transform the pandemic diagnosis by moving the same out of the clinics and laboratories into community testing sites and homes. This review discusses the principle, technology, and strategies being used in antibody-based testing at present. It also underlines the immense prospect of immunoglobulin-based testing and the efficacy of repeated planned deployment in pandemic management and post-pandemic sustainable screenings globally.
The aim of this article is to develop, characterize, and test a novel 3D bioscaffold matrix that can accommodate pancreatic islets and provide them with a continuous, controlled, and steady source of oxygen to prevent hypoxia-induced damage following transplantation. Hence, a collagen-based cryogel bioscaffold that incorporates calcium peroxide (CPO) into its matrix is made. The optimal concentration of CPO integrated into bioscaffolds is 0.25 wt% and this generates oxygen at 0.21 ± 0.02 × 10 -3 m day -1 (day 1), 0.19 ± 0.01 × 10 -3 m day -1 (day 6), 0.13 ± 0.03 × 10 -3 m d -1 (day 14), and 0.14 ± 0.02 × 10 -3 m d -1 (day 21). Accordingly, islets seeded into cryogel-CPO bioscaffolds have a significantly higher viability and function compared to islets seeded into cryogel alone bioscaffolds; these findings are supported by data from quantitative computational modeling. When syngeneic islets are transplanted into the epididymal fat pad (EFP) of diabetic mice, the cryogel-0.25 wt%CPO bioscaffold improves islet function with diabetic animals re-establishing glycemic control. Mice transplanted with cryogel-0.25 wt%CPO bioscaffolds show faster responses to intraperitoneal glucose injections and have a higher level of insulin content in their EFP compared to those transplanted with islets alone (P < 0.05). The novel oxygen-generating bioscaffold (i.e., cryogel-0.25 wt%CPO) therefore provides a biostable and biocompatible 3D microenvironment for islets which can facilitate islet survival and function at extra-hepatic sites of transplantation.
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