Portable, Rapid Zika Test | The Scientist Magazine®

Portable, Rapid Zika Test | The Scientist Magazine®

Portable, Rapid Zika Test

A new point-of-care diagnostic enables viral detection at low thresholds.

By Tanya Lewis | June 30, 2016

The test turns purple when the virus is present.AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY

Researchers have developed a portable diagnostic test for Zika virus infection that can be deployed in regions without access to expensive laboratory resources. The test, which involves amplification of viral RNA in a chemically heated cup and detection via a color-changing dye, was capable of detecting virus in saliva sample at a sensitivity of 5 plaque-forming units (PFU) in under 40 minutes, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania reported yesterday (June 29) in Analytical Chemistry.

“The more tools we can have for molecular point-of-care diagnostics for the Zika virus, the better,” Keith Pardee of the University of Toronto told The Scientist.Pardee and colleagues recently developed their own low-cost, paper-based Zika test.