Amazing stuff! An interesting approach! Make them viruses visible!
"... Now, researchers ... have made a breakthrough by mixing up the recipe for that chemical reaction, creating a bioluminescence diagnostic tool that's 515 times brighter and eight times more enduring than current models. It isn't just brighter, but retains most of its glow – 96% of it – after an hour, which leapfrogs the hurdles faced by existing tools.
Called Luminescence CAscade-based Sensor (LUCAS), this tool uses the natural "ingredients" in the production of bioluminescence – the light-emitting molecule luciferin, which reacts with the enzyme luciferase. Traditionally, replicating nature's glow has worked, to a point. Scientists have been able to produce this reaction but have been unable to sustain the glow for long. LUCAS, however, also features an enzyme known as beta-galactosidase, which attaches to luciferin and regulates the release of its light-emitting properties. ..."
"... To evaluate LUCAS’ efficacy, the team used 177 viral-spiked patient samples and 130 viral-spiked serum samples infected with either SARS-CoV-2, HIV, HBV, or HCV. SARS-CoV-2 patient samples were collected via nasopharyngeal swab, while HIV, HBV, and HCV samples were collected via blood draw. LUCAS provided diagnostic answers within 23 minutes and with an average accuracy across all pathogens of over 94%. ..."
From the abstract:
"Bioluminescence holds notable promise as a modality in diagnostics due to its high signal-to-noise ratio and absence of incident radiation. However, challenges arise from rapid signal decay and reduced enzyme activity when linked to targeting molecules, limiting its reliability in point-of-care diagnostic applications.
Here we introduce the luminescence cascade-based sensor (LUCAS) assay, an enzyme cascade system capable of detecting analytes with ultrahigh sensitivity and prolonged bioluminescence. Utilizing a sequential enzymatic reaction, our assay achieves a greater than 500-fold increase in bioluminescence signal and maintains an 8-fold improvement in signal persistence compared to conventional bioluminescence assays.
Implemented on a portable, fully automated device designed for point-of-care settings, our system facilitates rapid (<23 min) sample-to-answer analysis of viruses without an external power supply.
Its accuracy surpasses 94% in the qualitative classification of 177 viral-infected patient samples and 130 viral-spiked serum samples, various pathogens including the respiratory virus SARS-CoV-2, and blood-borne pathogens such as HIV, HBV and HCV as clinical models.
The decentralized, rapid, sensitive, specific and cost-effective nature of LUCAS positions it as a viable diagnostic tool for low-resource environments."
New Diagnostic Tool Uses Bioluminescence to Detect Viruses (original news release)
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