Two drops of blood are enough to detect the virus and the antibodies. Test results take around 15 minutes and use visual detection similar to RT-PCR in a fraction of the time. Previous viral exposure can be detected. Sensitivity is comparable to antibody/antigen assays.

University of California, Santa Cruz

A strip or dipstick holding immobilized reagents are enclosed. Patient's blood is deposited on the strip coated with purified monoclonal antibody or recombinant antigen. the antibody targets the virus antigen and the recombinant antigen is recognized by antibodies present in an infected individual's system. The strip's labeled antibodies bind to the same antigen indicate a colored signal by an infected patient's blood.
Uses a patient's blood as the sample.

LFIA

Dcruz, R. J., Currier, A. W., & Sampson, V. B. (2020). Laboratory Testing Methods for Novel Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, 8. doi:10.3389/fcell.2020.00468

Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology

Advantages of LFIA

These tests are more difficult to develop as test reagents are harder to produce (purified monoclonal antibodies). The tests also need to be assessed and optimized from an infected patient's blood as well.

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