IIT Bombay develops sensor to detect COVID-19 in wastewater
The technique, published in the journal Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, could be used to enable widespread monitoring of COVID-19 prevalence in low- and middle-income countries which struggle to conduct mass human testing.
A group of scientists from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay and the University of Strathclyde, UK has demonstrated a low-cost sensor that can detect fragments of the virus responsible for COVID-19 within the wastewater.
The technique, published in the journal Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, could be used to enable widespread monitoring of COVID-19 prevalence in low- and middle-income countries which struggle to conduct mass human testing.
The sensor can be used with portable equipment that uses the standard Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test to detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus, without the need for the expensive chemicals and lab infrastructure needed for real-time quantitative PCR tests.
The sensor was tested with wastewater collected from a sewage treatment plant in Mumbai spiked with SARS-Cov-2 Ribonucleic Acid (RNA).
The biosensor uses printed circuit board electrodes to detect fragments of SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid which have combined with methylene blue β a readily available salt used as a medication and dye β which is added to the sample to produce a measurable electrochemical signal. The sensor was able to detect the genetic material at concentrations as low as 10 picograms per microlitre (pg/ΞΌl). The electrodes are reusable, easy to clean, do not undergo any changes that affect their capabilities and have a long shelf-life.
Dr. Siddharth Tallur, Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at IIT Bombay, said: βThe method we have developed is not just applicable to SARS-CoV-2, it could be applied to any other virus so itβs very versatile. In the future, weβll focus on optimising the assay further to increase accuracy and also integrate the assay with a portable platform to handle both PCR reaction and electrochemical measurement.
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