Abstract

 COVID-19 infection has spread all over the world. One of the problems in this pandemic is that the number of tests such as PCR for this infectious disease has not caught up with the number of infected people. To solve this situation, a simple and inexpensive test kit is required.

 Using HCR and aggregation of gold nanoparticles, we propose a new test kit that “ordinary people can easily do it at home” using HCR (Hybridization Chain Reaction). The HCR amplification reaction enables highly sensitivite detection of new coronaviruses, and because the reaction proceeds at room temperature, it does not require a special equipment like thermal cycler. Our proposing mechanism utilizes a specific reaction with the spike protein on the surface of the new coronavirus. Therefore, there is no need to extract RNA in the new coronavirus and even ordinary people without special knowledge and technique can use the test kit.The result is shown by changing the color of the test solution caused by the aggregation effect of gold nanoparticles. Thus, the visualized result makes it easy to understand whether the person is positive.

  Our test kit will make it easier for anyone to check for infection and suppress COVID-19 more effectively.

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