New Delhi: Scientists from Delhi based-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB) would work together with Tata Sons to develop Indias first paper-strip test for rapid diagnosis of Covid-19.

The premier CSIR laboratory has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Tata Sons for licensing of know-how and scaling up the technology in the form a kit which can be deployed for Covid-19 testing on the ground by the end of May.

The testing approach was developed by a team led by scientists, Dr Souvik Maiti and Dr Debjyoti Chakraborty from CSIR-IGIB in early April and named Feluda - FNCAS9 Editor Linked Uniform Detection Assay (Feluda), after a famous fictional character that appeared in short stories written by noted filmaker Satyajit Ray.

The test uses cutting-edge, futuristic gene-editing tool- Crispr-Cas9 to target and identify the genomic sequences of the novel coronavirus in the samples of suspected individuals.

The technology was conceived and developed at CSIR IGIB under sickle cell mission and utilizes an indigenously developed cutting edge CRISPR Cas9. A combination of CRISPR biology and paper-strip chemistry leads to a visible signal readout on a paper strip that can be rapidly assessed for confirming the presence of viral infection in a sample," said Dr Anurag Aggarwal, Director, IGIB, New Delhi.

Unlike the real time PCR test currently used for diagnosis of Covid-19 in India, costing about 4500, this test would be affordable, since it does not depend on expensive real-time PCR machines which are already in limited supply.

We are happy to enter into a partnership with IGIB for further development and commercialization of this CRISPR based technology for COVID-19 detection. It uses a test protocol that is simple to administer and easy to interpret enabling results to be made available to the medical fraternity in relatively lesser time, as compared to other test protocols," said Banmali Agrawala, President - Infrastructure and Defence and Aerospace, Tata Sons.

The kit is similar to a portable paper-strip test used to confirm pregnancy and does not require any specialized tools or different skills to operate.

Unlike most rapid tests which require dedicated machinery, it can be performed using simple standard equipments available in any pathological laboratory.

It is also the first such indigeneous testing kit based on Crisper technology to be developed in India.

Go here to see the original:
Covid-19: CSIR-IGIB partner with TATA Sons to make Indias first paper-strip kit - Livemint

Comments are closed.