Development of rapid antigen test prototype for detection of SARS-CoV-2 in saliva samples

Agnija Kivrane, Viktorija Igumnova, Elza Elizabete Liepina, Dace Skrastina, Ainars Leonciks, Zanna Rudevica, Svjatoslavs Kistkins, Aigars Reinis, Anna Zilde, Andris Kazaks, Renate Ranka (Corresponding Author)

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)
10 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Background: The development of easy-to-perform diagnostic methods is highly important for detecting current coronavirus disease (COVID-19). This pilot study aimed at developing a lateral flow assay (LFA)- based test prototype to detect severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus in saliva samples. Methods: Mice were immunized using the recombinant receptor-binding domain (rRBD) of SARS-CoV-2 virus spike protein. The combinations of the obtained mouse anti-receptor-binding domain (RBD) polyclonal antibodies (PAbs) and several commercial antibodies directed against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein were used for enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to select antibody pairs for LFA. The antibody pairs were tested in a LFA format using saliva samples from individuals with early SARS-CoV-2 infection (n = 9). The diagnostic performance of the developed LFA was evaluated using saliva samples from hospitalized COVID-19 patients (n = 111); the median time from the onset of symptoms to sample collection was 10 days (0-24 days, interquartile range (IQR): 7-13). The reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) was used as a reference method. Results: Based on ELISA and preliminary LFA results, a combination of mouse anti-RBD PAbs (capture antibody) and rabbit anti-spike PAbs (detection antibody) was chosen for clinical analysis of sample. When compared with rRT-PCR results, LFA exhibited 26.5% sensitivity, 58.1% specificity, 50.0% positive prediction value (PPV), 33.3% negative prediction value (NPV), and 38.7% diagnostic accuracy. However, there was a reasonable improvement in assay specificity (85.7%) and PPV (91.7%) when samples were stratified based on the sampling time. Conclusion: The developed LFA assay demonstrated a potential of SARS-CoV-2 detection in saliva samples. Further technical assay improvements should be made to enhance diagnostic performance followed by a validation study in a larger cohort of both asymptomatic and symptomatic patients in the early stage of infection.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere8207
Number of pages9
JournalUpsala Journal of Medical Sciences
Volume127
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 25 Feb 2022

Keywords*

  • antigen test
  • COVID-19
  • ELISA
  • Lateral flow assay
  • point-of-care testing
  • polyclonal antibodies

Field of Science*

  • 3.1 Basic medicine
  • 3.2 Clinical medicine

Publication Type*

  • 1.1. Scientific article indexed in Web of Science and/or Scopus database

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