Recent Progress on Rapid Lateral Flow Assay-Based Early Diagnosis of COVID-19

Abstract

The outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has resulted in enormous losses worldwide. Through effective control measures and vaccination, prevention and curbing have proven significantly effective; however, the disease has still not been eliminated. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a simple, convenient, and rapid detection strategy for controlling disease recurrence and transmission. Taking advantage of their low-cost and simple operation, point-of-care test (POCT) kits for COVID-19 based on the lateral flow assay (LFA) chemistry have become one of the most convenient and widely used screening tools for pathogens in hospitals and at home. In this review, we introduce essential features of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus, compare existing detection methods, and focus on the principles, merits and limitations of the LFAs based on viral nucleic acids, antigens, and corresponding antibodies. A systematic comparison was realized through summarization and analyses, providing a comprehensive demonstration of the LFA technology and insights into preventing and curbing the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sharp Branched Gold Nanostar-Based Lateral-Flow Immunoassay for Detection of Yersinia pestis

“…Transmission occurs often due to infected flea bites and sometimes due to consumption of contaminated raw meat, which causes pharyngeal and gastrointestinal plague . Therefore, the development of point-of-care diagnostic technology is necessary, which could lead to early antibiotic treatment and effective control of the disease. − Among various point-of-care testing platforms, lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) has served as a popular analytical method because it is simple, rapid, cost-effective, and user-friendly. − The LFIA sensitivity is mainly dependent on the color intensity of the nanoparticles at the test line, which is determined by the number of adsorbed nanoparticles on the test line, and the optical contrast, i.e., the extinction cross-section of the specific morphology of the nanoparticle system. , Over the past decades, numerous efforts have been devoted to improving the sensitivity of LFIA for the development of various types of nanoparticle systems including noble metal nanoparticles, − upconversion nanoparticles, quantum dots, magnetic nanoparticles, and many others . Among the various nanoparticle systems, colloidal gold nanoparticles are the most commonly used for LFIA because of their easy synthesis and their characteristic and unique red color for visual detection. ,− Although gold nanoparticles are relatively simple and cost-effective than other types of nanoparticle systems, they suffer from poor sensitivity which is mainly because of poor optical contrast at the test line .…”

Real-time, smartphone-based processing of lateral flow assays for early failure detection and rapid testing workflows

“…Indeed, due in large part to the COVID-19 pandemic, LFIAs are now synonymous with rapid, point-of-need testing. 4,5 The ability to rapidly and affordably test large populations is invaluable during infectious disease outbreaks and crucial to successful track-trace-treat pathways. 6 Moreover, mass testing can be leveraged to develop epidemiological models, 7 monitor vaccine efficacy, 8 and ultimately improve our understanding of diseases.…”

An update on lateral flow immunoassay for the rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies

“…The seroconversion for IgM occurs generally from 4 to14 days after symptoms onset, so after 8 days on average IgM can be easily measured in the serum, reaching a plateau after around 3–4 weeks [14] , [15] . The increase in IgA titer occurs after 6–8 days up to 21 days from symptoms onset, with a higher concentration compared to IgG, but a lower specificity [16] , [17] .…”