The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Saturday, June 19, approved SENSIT Rapid COVID-19 Ag kit, a Covid-19 detection kit. The kit gives the test result in a span of 15 minutes.
The kit can be used for the qualitative detection of SARS CoV-2 Nucleocapsid Protein with an assay time of 15 minutes. Further, the sample is collected using nasopharyngeal swabs from the suspected individual. It is a chromatographic immunoassay kit and allows the healthcare personnel to visually read the test result.
The test works on the principle of sandwich immunoassay and utilizes a pair of monoclonal antibodies which when bound to COVID-19 specific antigen, results in the appearance of a coloured line. The kit exhibits sensitivity and specificity of 86% and 100%, respectively.
Furthermore, the kit has a shelf life of 24 months. SENSIT Rapid COVID-19 Ag Kit has been successfully commercialized.
The kit will give a boost to the biotechnology ecosystem in India. At present, the quick testing procedure involves antigen testing which provides the result for hundreds of samples within a short period of time. Further, tests by the SENSIT Rapid COVID-19 Ag Kit will allow healthcare professionals to detect infected individuals quickly, save their time and allow them to provide better advice and treatment to the infected individual.