Note: When clicking on a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) number, you will be taken to an external site maintained by the publisher.
Some full text articles may not yet be available without a charge during the embargo (administrative interval).
What is a DOI Number?
Some links on this page may take you to non-federal websites. Their policies may differ from this site.
-
Abstract The transmission of SARS‐CoV‐2 coronavirus has led to the COVID‐19 pandemic. Nucleic acid testing while specific has limitations for mass surveillance. One alternative is the main protease (Mpro) due to its functional importance in mediating the viral life cycle. Here, we describe a combination of modular substrate and gold colloids to detect Mprovia visual readout. The strategy involves zwitterionic peptide that carries opposite charges at the C‐/N‐terminus to exploit the specific recognition by Mpro. Autolytic cleavage releases a positively charged moiety that assembles the nanoparticles with rapid color changes (
t <10 min). We determine a limit of detection for Mproin breath condensate matrices <10 nM. We further assayed ten COVID‐negative subjects and found no false‐positive result. In the light of simplicity, our test for viral protease is not limited to an equipped laboratory, but also is amenable to integrating as portable point‐of‐care devices including those on face‐coverings. -
Abstract The transmission of SARS‐CoV‐2 coronavirus has led to the COVID‐19 pandemic. Nucleic acid testing while specific has limitations for mass surveillance. One alternative is the main protease (Mpro) due to its functional importance in mediating the viral life cycle. Here, we describe a combination of modular substrate and gold colloids to detect Mprovia visual readout. The strategy involves zwitterionic peptide that carries opposite charges at the C‐/N‐terminus to exploit the specific recognition by Mpro. Autolytic cleavage releases a positively charged moiety that assembles the nanoparticles with rapid color changes (
t <10 min). We determine a limit of detection for Mproin breath condensate matrices <10 nM. We further assayed ten COVID‐negative subjects and found no false‐positive result. In the light of simplicity, our test for viral protease is not limited to an equipped laboratory, but also is amenable to integrating as portable point‐of‐care devices including those on face‐coverings.