Paper-Based Point-of-Care Testing of SARS-CoV-2

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant global social and economic disruption. The highly transmissive nature of the disease makes rapid and reliable detection critically important. Point-of-care (POC) tests involve performing diagnostic tests outside of a laboratory that produce a rapid and reliable result. It therefore allows the diagnostics of diseases at or near the patient site. Paper-based POC tests have been gaining interest in recent years as they allow rapid, low-cost detection without the need for external instruments. In this review, we focus on the development of paper-based POC devices for the detection of SARS-CoV-2. The review first introduces the principles of detection methods that are available to paper-based devices. It then summarizes the state-of-the-art paper devices and their analytical performances. The advantages and drawbacks among methods are also discussed. Finally, limitations of the existing devices are discussed, and prospects are given with the hope to identify research opportunities and directions in the field. We hope this review will be helpful for researchers to develop a clinically useful and economically efficient paper-based platform that can be used for rapid, accurate on-site diagnosis to aid in identifying acute infections and eventually contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

Automated summary

Paper-based point-of-care tests have gained interest for their rapid, low-cost, and instrument-free detection capabilities. This review focuses on the development of paper-based POC devices for detecting SARS-CoV-2, discussing principles, performance, advantages, drawbacks, limitations, and prospects of existing devices in the field.