Published Study Details Proof-of-Concept for COVID-19 Detection via Saliva Screening

Methodology developed by QIMR Berghofer researchers utilizing the Agilent Cary 630 FTIR Spectrometer

Excerpt from the Press Release:

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) announced today that researchers from the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute in Brisbane, Australia, collaborated with Agilent experts on a proof-of-concept FTIR-based saliva COVID-19 testing workflow using the Agilent Cary 630 FTIR Spectrometer.

The study investigated the pathophysiological response to a COVID-19 infection through ATR-FTIR spectroscopy. The researchers acquired infrared spectra of saliva samples following a quick and simple sample preparation requiring only ethanol and basic laboratory equipment. An infrared spectrum can be considered as a biochemical snapshot of the saliva sample including a COVID-19 immune response signature.

Unlike other testing technologies such as PCR testing or rapid antigen test, the ATR-FTIR  method analyses the pathophysiological responses of the human body rather than detecting the pathogen/antigen itself, which is thought to make this method more robust against virus mutations.

“We applied a simple ethanol decontamination procedure for biosafe handling of self-collected saliva samples. A basic step of significant importance for any test that has the potential to be used in non-clinical environments such as in remote areas or in scenarios where large crowds require rapid testing, for example, in airports, or sports stadiums,” explained associate professor Michelle Hill, head of QIMR Berghofer’s Precision and Systems Biomedicine Research Group, and one of the lead scientists of the study.

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