A nurse with a universal probe for taking a PCR testMOSCOW, Jan 19 Specialists of the Radiation Troops , chemical and biological protection have developed a new method of testing for coronavirus, which is several times faster than traditional PCR studies and is not inferior to them in accuracy, the Ministry of Defense told reporters.
"Based on modern methods for the specific indication of pathogens, a set of reagents has been developed for the detection of SARS-CoV2 coronavirus RNA by real-time loop isothermal amplification", the release says.
The Ministry of Defense explained that the kit included a special reagent that inactivates the virus in just a minute. This allows you to start researching right away. What kind of reagent this is is not disclosed — this is the know-how of the Russian military. «The kit ensures the detection of coronavirus in clinical samples within 30 minutes from the moment the material is taken, while in terms of its sensitivity and specificity it is not inferior to other medical devices based on nucleic acid amplification methods. acids,» the military department said. Thus, a traditional PCR analysis takes about an hour, and taking into account sample preparation, two hours. The new test has the same accuracy — at least 95 percent, the developers assured. The methodology has not changed either — the samples taken are placed in a special solution and then sent for research. and PCR kit was named «CoviGen-LAMP», it is fully compatible with the equipment for conventional PCR tests. «Due to the fact that we refused to prepare the sample for analysis, we simplified the method of laboratory diagnostics. the amount of materials, reagents, as well as possible operator errors in preparing the sample for analysis,» the Defense Ministry added. Military doctors are already being trained to work with the new tests. Courses were organized for them, in which they get acquainted with the theory of the new method and special equipment, work in the laboratory, learn how to prepare samples and set up reactions. Specialists from the Kirov branch of the 48th Central Research Institute of the RKhBZ Troops and their colleagues from the research and production company participated in the development «Synthol.»