Improved oligonucleotide synthesis for faster, more accurate COVID-19 testing

对人们进行检测，以确定他们是否感染了冠状病毒，这一点很重要，以便在他们检测呈阳性时得到适当治疗，并在人群中控制病毒。英国政府的测试和追踪计划等项目通过评估鼻咽拭子等人体组织样本中是否存在病毒的遗传物质来确定病毒是否感染了某人。有两种方法可以做到这一点-一种称为LAMP的测试，这是一种较新的方法，或者是目前的金标准测试，qPCR。这两种测试都使用了被称为寡核苷酸的DNA链。在冠状病毒大流行期间，LAMP测试的使用急剧增长，因为它使用了廉价而简单的设备。然而，事实上，它使用比qPCR更多的寡核苷酸，以及对LAMP测试的大量需求，意味着制造商正在努力快速生产大量高纯度寡核苷酸。寡核苷酸需要是高纯度的，没有不需要的材料，如太短的DNA链，以便测试给出准确的结果。ATDBio是一家总部位于英国的公司，是LAMP测试所需DNA的专家。根据其经验，它设计了一种方法，可以更快、更经济地生产大量、高纯度的DNA。该公司的新方法结合了减少制造寡核苷酸时产生的不需要的短链数量，以及更好地去除它们和其他不需要的片段的方法。该公司已经有早期数据表明这种新方法将奏效。在这个创新英国项目中，资金将用于进一步开发和研究新技术，并评估他们生产的寡核苷酸是否适用于COVID-19测试。新的寡核苷酸随后将被大规模生产，并在ATDBio实验室外的COVID-19测试中独立测试。ATDBio的新方法有望将可生产的DNA数量增加三倍，将其纯化所需的时间缩短四分之三，并将其纯度提高到96%。这将使LAMP COVID-19测试更快，更准确，并降低其成本。此外，新技术将适用于在检测其他感染和癌症等疾病时制造DNA。

Testing people to find out whether they are infected with coronavirus is important in order to get them treated properly if they do test positive, and to keep the virus under control in the population. Programmes such as the UK Government's Test and Trace scheme work out whether the virus has infected someone by assessing whether its genetic material is present in a sample of human tissue such as a nasopharyngeal swab. There are two ways of doing this -- a test known as LAMP, which is a newer approach, or the current gold standard test, qPCR. Both tests use strands of DNA known as oligonucleotides.The use of the LAMP test has grown dramatically during the coronavirus pandemic because it uses cheap and simple equipment. However, the fact that it uses more oligonucleotides than qPCR, and the massive demand for LAMP testing, means that manufacturers are struggling to produce large volumes of high purity oligonucleotides rapidly. The oligonucleotides need to be highly pure, with no unwanted material such as DNA strands which are too short, so that the tests give accurate results. Large volumes are needed so that people can be tested repeatedly and regularly.ATDBio is a UK based company which is an expert in making the DNA needed for LAMP testing. Based on its experience it has devised a method which should enable the production of large, highly pure quantities of DNA more quickly and economically. Its new method combines reducing the amount of unwanted shorter strands produced when making oligonucleotides, with a better way of removing them and other unwanted pieces.The company already has early data suggesting that this new approach will work. In this Innovate UK project, the funds will be used to develop and research the new techniques further and assess whether the oligonucleotides they produce work in COVID-19 tests. The new oligonucleotides will then be produced on a large scale and tested independently in COVID-19 tests outside ATDBio's laboratories.ATDBio's new method is expected to increase the amount of DNA that can be produced three fold, reduce the time taken to purify it by three quarters, and increase its purity to 96%. This should make the LAMP COVID-19 tests faster and more accurate, and reduce their cost. In addition, the new techniques will be suitable for making DNA when testing for other infections, and in diseases such as cancer.