image: Displaceable probe LAMP to detect SARS-CoV-2.
(A) Classical RT-LAMP utilizes six primers hybridizing to eight regions within the viral genome. These primers form a dumbbell structure through self-hybridization of FIP and BIP and addition of two loop primers improves the amplification rate. To allow simultaneous detection of several targets in real-time, displaceable probe architecture was employed by tagging one of the loop primers with a quencher and supplementing with a partially complementary probe containing a fluorophore tag. (B) Positive results can be analyzed in real-time and process manifests itself as sigmoidal curve as it would be in RT-qPCR using TaqMan probes. (C) End-point fluorescence is then observed through orange filter coupled with blue LED (exc. 470 nm, Firebird Biomolecular Sciences LLC, US).
Ultra-fast, cheap LAMP-based COVID tests could be performed by non-experts at work and in public spaces, giving results in under an hour