Detecting SARS-CoV-2 from nasal swabs using surface-scanning techniques

What is it about?

We were able to demonstrate that nasal swabs of patients suffering from COVID-19 could be differentiated from swabs of healthy people using the 'ambient' mass spectrometry techniques Desorption Electrospray Ionisation (DESI) and Laser Desorption – Rapid Evaporative Ionisation Mass Spectrometry (LD-REIMS).

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Photo by Mufid Majnun on Unsplash

Photo by Mufid Majnun on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Knowing whether someone is infected with SARS-CoV-2 (the virus which causes COVID-19) is important in order to monitor the spread of the disease. The current 'gold standard' - at time of writing - utilises a technique called Polymerase Chain Reaction (best known as 'PCR testing') to analyse nasal swabs, but PCR requires time, expertise, lab space, and expensive reagents. The aim of this project was to develop a technique which could analyse nasal swabs using 'real time' techniques - giving results within seconds or minutes, rather than hours or even days - which could, hypothetically, even stratify between people who are asymptomatic, people who will be mildly sick, and people who will develop SARS and need urgent treatment. Technically we were not aiming to detect the virus directly, but used statistical methods to look at all biomolecules presents - including those produced specifically by the infection - to differentiate healthy and sick people.

Perspectives