The microelectromechanical biosensor (MEMS) consists of a probe bound to a flexible single-stranded DNA cantilever that is linked to a self-assembled stiff double-stranded DNA structure. It can realize a rapid and ultrasensitive detection of nucleic acids in biofluids within a field effect transistor (FET). With swab samples from 33 COVID-19 patients confirmed by traditional qRT-PCR tests, 23 samples from qRT-PCR-negative patients with fever, six samples from patients with influenza A or B, and 25 samples from healthy volunteers, RNA of SARS-CoV-2 was detected in all 33 patients in only 0.1 to four minutes, and in none of the 54 COVID-19-negative controls.
Nature Biomedical Engineering,
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41551-021-00833-7
10-2 COVID-19 detection in less than 4 min: Fudan University team develops novel test concept