Enzyme-free, one-step nucleic-acid detection for point-of-care COVID-19 diagnostic screening

Rapid diagnostic testing has proven essential for stemming the on-going COVID-19 pandemic. Given the global threat of COVID-19 transmission, millions of tests are needed per month to isolate infections and to facilitate safe reopening of societies. This internship will contribute to COVID-19 diagnosis efforts by first developing a faster and cost-effective protocol for viral nucleic-acid extraction, the first step common to the majority of COVID-19 molecular diagnostic tests. The internship will also contribute to the development of a one-step, enzyme-free assay that is cheaper and amenable for usage at the point-of-care to help address the demand for more testing capacity both in Canada and world-wide.

Faculty Supervisor:

Leo Chou

Student:

Travis Douglas

Partner:

Luna Nanotech

Discipline:

Engineering - biomedical

Sector:

University:

University of Toronto

Program: