MANILA – A new testing kit to check for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) infection is expected to be developed by May, according to the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
DOST Secretary Fortunato de la Peña said the new kit will be a cell-based immunoassay for serologic testing.
“There are three types of tests available. The polymerase chain reaction testing and antigen testing can both test for active infection. Serological testing tests the antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) and can detect whether a person was previously infected with Covid-19,” he told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Monday night.
The project is being supported by the DOST-Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD) with funding worth close to PHP5 million.
The DOST-PCHRD-funded project, “Development of a Cell-Based Immunoassay for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) Serologic Testing”, is led by Dr. Fresthel Monica Climacosa of the University of the Philippines-Manila, together with collaborators from the University of Toronto, Canada.
In text messages to the PNA, Guiditta Gelera of PCHRD said the kit being developed would not need electricity.
“Results can be seen with the naked eye. This (kit) is for health care professionals’ use since this requires blood sample,” she said.
Gelera added the technology is scalable at the moment.
De la Peña said the immunoassay method will be using engineered yeast cells to detect antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.
He said the project team had already made significant progress in using a cell-surface engineered yeast in an agglutination (clumping)-based immunoassay for the detection of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in human serum samples.
“This could be used in remote areas which lack sophisticated laboratory equipment and infrastructure,” he said.
It would benefit communities, researchers, and clinicians determined to address local and global burdens of Covid-19, specifically in improving access to diagnostic tools for mass disease surveillance, de la Peña added. (PNA)
(This article, written by Ma. Cristina Arayata, was first published in the PNA Website on February 7, 2022)