The Governing Council of the University of Toronto

Purpose

The team proposes to develop a molecular assay that identifies SARS-CoV-2 from saliva by a color change in 30 minutes. This assay consists of reagents that will amplify the SARS-CoV-2 genetic material 10 thousand fold. The amplified genetic material will bind to 13-nm gold nanoparticles coated with complementary single stranded DNA. The color of the solution changes because the gold nanoparticle will be assembled onto the SARS-CoV-2 amplified gene. The clustering of the gold nanoparticle changes how the electrons are moving, leading to different absorbance properties. This can be visualized by the change in the color of the solution of gold nanoparticles from red to blue. A positive detection is when the solution is blue. The team proposes to develop a formulation consisting of enzymes, salts, and gold nanoparticle-conjugates.