Massive and rapid COVID-19 testing is feasible by extraction-free SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is commonly diagnosed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to detect viral RNA in patient samples, but RNA extraction constitutes a major bottleneck in current testing. Methodological simplification could increase diagnostic availability and efficiency, benefitting patient care and infection control. Here, we describe methods circumventing RNA extraction in COVID-19 testing by performing RT-PCR directly on heat-inactivated or lysed samples. Our data, including benchmarking using 597 clinical patient samples and a standardised diagnostic system, demonstrate that direct RT-PCR is viable option to extraction-based tests. Using controlled amounts of active SARS-CoV-2, we confirm effectiveness of heat inactivation by plaque assay and evaluate various generic buffers as transport medium for direct RT-PCR. Significant savings in time and cost are achieved through RNA-extraction-free protocols that are directly compatible with established PCR-based testing pipelines. This could aid expansion of COVID-19 testing.

In:Nature communications: Springer Science and Business Media LLC11:1, s. 4812-2041-1723

By the author/editor: Smyrlaki, I; Ekman, M; Lentini, A; de Sousa, NR; Papanicolaou, N; Vondracek, M; show more...; Aarum, J; Safari, H; Muradrasoli, S; Rothfuchs, AG; Albert, J; Hogberg, B; Reinius, B; show less...

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