Development of integrated microfluidic platform coupled with Surface-enhanced Raman Spectroscopy for diagnosis of COVID-19

Corona Virus Disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic has created an alarming situation across the globe. Varieties of diagnostic protocols are being developed for the diagnosis of COVID-19. Many of these diagnostic protocols however, have limitations such as for example unacceptable no of false-positive and false-negative cases, particularly during the early stages of infection. At present, the real-time (quantitative) reverse transcriptasepolymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is considered the gold standard for COVID-19 diagnosis. However, RTPCR based tests are complex, expensive, time consuming and involve pre-processing of samples. A swift, sensitive, inexpensive protocol for mass screening is urgently needed to contain this pandemic. There is urgent need to harness new powerful technologies for accurate detection not only of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) but also combating the emergence of pandemics of new viruses as well. To overcome the current challenges, the authors propose a diagnostic protocol based on Surface-enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) coupled with microfluidic devices containing integrated microchannels functionalized either with vertically aligned Au/Ag coated carbon nanotubes or with disposable electrospun micro/nano-filter membranes. These devices have the potential to successfully trap viruses from diverse biological fluids/secretions including saliva, nasopharyngeal, tear etc. These can thus enrich the viral titre and enable accurate identification of the viruses from their respective Raman signatures. If the device is successfully developed and proven to detect target viruses, it would facilitate rapid screening of symptomatic as well as asymptomatic individuals of COVID19. This would be a valuable diagnostic tool not only for mass screening of current COVID-19 pandemic but also in viral pandemic outbreaks of future.

Automated summary

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the urgent need for a swift, sensitive, and inexpensive diagnostic protocol. The authors propose a new diagnostic approach based on Surface-enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) coupled with microfluidic devices to trap and identify viruses from diverse biological fluids. If successful, this approach could serve as a valuable tool for mass screening of COVID-19 and future viral pandemics.