New Delhi: Amid the second wave of coronavirus in India, the Centre has give you a brand new RT-PCR kit to strengthen the nation’s fight against COVID-19.
The new multiplex RT-PCR kit will assist in detecting SARS-CoV-2 mutations and is developed by Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST), an Institute of National Importance (INI) underneath the Department of Science and Technology (Government of India).
“This unique RT-PCR kit will be a significant weapon in our fight against COVID-19 by a facile detection of SARS-CoV-2 mutations which are becoming increasingly important,” mentioned Secretary, DST, Ashutosh Sharma.
According to the Union Ministry of Science & Technology, the kit targets two SARS-CoV-2 genes: RdRp and ORFb-nsp14, and the human RNAse P gene as the interior management to assist detect a spread of mutant strains.
“Various studies have shown that RdRp and ORF1b-nsp14 genes are more sensitive in detecting COVID-19. In order to target the multiple variants in the second wave, using two highly accurate confirmatory genes like RdRp and ORF-nsp14, can give precise results,” the Union Ministry of Science & Technology acknowledged.
It added that the ORFb-nsp14 is among the least mutated genes in COVID-19 and at the moment, there aren’t any kits available in the market with ORF-nsp14 because the goal.
The new kit is predicated on multiplex Taqman chemistry, amplifying all three genes in a single response. The amplification time for the assay is 45 minutes, other than the time required for the RNA isolation from nasopharyngeal swab samples. Multiplexing two confirmatory genes will assist shortlist doable new coronavirus variants if one of many genes fails to amplify and might be marked for sequence evaluation.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has additionally validated this kit on the National Institute of Virology, Pune, and located that it has 97.3% sensitivity and 100% specificity in COVID-19 detection.
The SCTIMST has signed a non-exclusive license MoU with Huwel Lifesciences, Hyderabad, on May 14 2021 to commercialize the kit.
