Commercially available mass spectrometers can reliably detect the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. In the journal 'Clinical proteomics' researchers from the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) present a new method which employs equipment that is already being used in hospitals and laboratories to detect bacterial and fungal infections.
Reviewed by Danielle Ellis, B.Sc.Aug 16 2023 Commercially available mass spectrometers can reliably detect the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. In the journal "Clinical proteomics" researchers from the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg present a new method which employs equipment that is already being used in hospitals and laboratories to detect bacterial and fungal infections. It takes just two hours from swab to result.
The new method requires a nasal or throat swab. The sample needs to be prepared before it can be analysed by a mass spectrometer, which takes only a few seconds. In MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, a laser pulse is used to transfer the sample to the gas phase - then the mass of the individual components is measured. "This allows us to directly and unambiguously measure individual virus particles of the coronavirus.
The advantage of the new method is that MALDI-TOF mass spectrometers are already being used in many laboratories and clinics to diagnose bacterial or fungal infections and are thus readily available. The devices can even distinguish between different variants of the virus. However, the method is not yet as sensitive as polymerase chain reaction , the most sensitive corona test to date. This means that not all infections may be detected when there is a very low viral load.
The scientists from Halle want to further optimise the method in partnership with the University of Leipzig Medical Centre. Following this, the method would undergo a certification process so that it could be used clinically. The study was funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft .Journal reference:Kollhoff, L., et al. Development of a rapid and specific MALDI-TOF mass spectrometric assay for SARS-CoV-2 detection. Clinical Proteomics. doi.org/10.1186/s12014-023-09415-y.
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