For those wondering about their immunity to COVID-19, a glucometer may soon be used to detect SARS-CoV-2 antibodies.
In a new study published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, researchers suggest that a simple, cost-effective glucometer test can ultimately tell people the level of their antibodies and how well they are protected against COVID-19.
Currently, the authors of the study say that it is difficult to determine how long a person remains immune to the virus after vaccination or after infection.
Researchers are adapting glucometers to track other molecules, trying to link detection to glucose production. In this case, when an antibody made with a detection enzyme comes in contact with a human antibody, they bind together and this process releases glucose, something the glucometer can clearly detect to show that an antibody is present in the body.
But the study’s authors said creating a detection antibody is easier said than done because it’s difficult to attach the detection antibody to the type of enzyme, invertase, that would create this type of detectable reaction. The researchers eventually succeeded in creating a unique fusion of enzyme and mouse antibodies that could bind to a human antibody whose reaction converted sucrose to glucose.
The research team tested their merging using a test strip. First, they placed the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein on a test strip that they dipped into samples from human patients. The patient’s antibodies bind to the virus’s thorn protein, as they would if someone came in contact with COVID-19 and their antibodies rushed to protect him.
When the researchers added the fusion protein and then the sucrose, the resulting reaction produced glucose that could be detected by a glucometer.
The authors of the study said that their test works by taking blood from a patient, but that with hypersensitivity it can soon be reworked for something as simple as a nasal swab.
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