Emerging Technologies for the Diagnosis of Viral Infections and SARS-CoV-2

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a newly emerging infection caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Based on the rapid increase in the rate of human infection, the World Health Organization (WHO) has classified the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic. Considering that there is no specific drug or vaccine yet for COVID-19, effective rapid diagnosis of viruses has become very important in terms of early detection and control of the outbreak. The routine difficulties of isolating the virus necessitated the diagnosis to be made with more serological tests for many years. However, in recent years, molecular tests that provide fast and high-quality viral diagnosis information have started to take their place in laboratories. Syndrome-based PCR tests after PCR and multiplex PCR tests are also approaches that question the direct factor and accelerate the diagnosis and treatment. LAMP PCR technology has also developed rapidly, and the diagnosis time has been shortened in the field or at the bedside with very small portable devices. As a new technology, CRISPR diagnostic methods and portable DNA sequencing devices will be very useful in the diagnosis of viral infections in the clinic for rapid results per patient. With immunoprecipitation systems using luciferase-labeled antigens, virus identification, quantitation, antiviral efficacy can be monitored. COVID-19 outbreak management increased the need for very fast and reliable tests and triggered the laboratory biotechnology industry. The entire world is experiencing a dynamic pandemic process in which the benefits of new, highly sensitive, accessible and portable identification methods will be tested. The presence of a large number of applications in the approval process for these methods provides strong evidence that SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic algorithms will have richer and productive solutions in the near future. Experiences will be guiding in better understanding of other viral infections, establishing bedside diagnostic solutions, providing more effective treatments.