A novel G-quadruplex aptamer-based spike trimeric antigen test for the detection of SARS-CoV-2

• Main Authors: Ankit Gupta (Author), Anjali Anand (Author), Neha Jain (Author), Sandeep Goswami (Author), Anbalagan Anantharaj (Author), Sharanabasava Patil (Author), Rahul Singh (Author), Amit Kumar (Author), Tripti Shrivastava (Author), Shinjini Bhatnagar (Author), Guruprasad R. Medigeshi (Author), Tarun Kumar Sharma (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Elsevier, 2021-12-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.

Summary

The recent SARS-CoV-2 outbreak has been declared a global health emergency. It will take years to vaccinate the whole population to protect them from this deadly virus, hence the management of SARS-CoV-2 largely depends on the widespread availability of an accurate diagnostic test. Toward addressing the unmet need of a reliable diagnostic test in the current work by utilizing the power of Systematic Evolution of Ligands by EXponential enrichment, a 44-mer G-quadruplex-forming DNA aptamer against spike trimer antigen of SARS-CoV-2 was identified. The lead aptamer candidate (S14) was characterized thoroughly for its binding, selectivity, affinity, structure, and batch-to-batch variability by utilizing various biochemical, biophysical, and in silico techniques. S14 has demonstrated a low nanomolar KD, confirming its tight binding to a spike antigen of SARS-CoV-2. S14 can detect as low as 2 nM of antigen. The clinical evaluation of S14 aptamer on nasopharyngeal swab specimens (n = 232) has displayed a highly discriminatory response between SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals from the non-infected one with a sensitivity and specificity of ∼91% and 98%, respectively. Importantly, S14 aptamer-based test has evinced a comparable performance with that of RT-PCR-based assay. Altogether, this study established the utility of aptamer technology for the detection of SARS-CoV-2.

Item Description

2162-2531
10.1016/j.omtn.2021.06.014