Detection of novel Coronavirus by CRISPR/Cas technology

Detection of novel Coronavirus by CRISPR/Cas technology
Rozita Ghojoghi,^1,*
1. Shiraz university of medical science
Introduction: The first and foremost step to overcome SARS-CoV-2 is to identify infected people in that detection can cut off the virus transmission cycle. There are different kinds of detection methods, such as quantitative PCR assay, antibody and antigen-based detection methods, and CRISPR-based tests, which have their advantages and disadvantages.
Methods: We gather information by searching key words of SARS-CoV2 , COVID19, diagnostic tests and CRISPR/Cas in Google scholar.
Results: Soon after SARS-CoV-2 emerged in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province in China, both DETECTR and SHERLOCK developed to identify NA of this virus more accessible and timesaving. To be more precise, the total workflow of CRISPR/Cas12a is approximately 30 minutes, and its LOD is 70-300 copies/µL input. On the other hand, SHERLOCK based detection spends more time (less than one hour), and its LOD is 10-100 copies/µL input .Recently, in May 2020, Sherlock Biosciences (Cambridge, USA) received the first FDA-approval for the Sherlock SARS-CoV-2 kit. A wide range of specimens can be used in this kit, such as a nasal swab, oropharyngeal swab, BAL, and nasopharyngeal swabs.
Conclusion: There is imperative potential in the use of CRISPR-based detection assays to fulfill the need for more rapid, more precise, and affordable methods, making it foregone technology to use in the future. However, we need to carry out more research on the evaluation of these new approaches.
Keywords: Coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, COVID19, Diagnostic tests, CRISPR/Cas