A fast, low-cost, robust and high-throughput method for viral nucleic acid isolation based on NAxtra magnetic nanoparticles.

The year of 2020 was profoundly marked by a global pandemic caused by a strain of coronavirus named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the etiological agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). To control disease spread, a key strategy adopted by many countries was the regular testing of individuals for infection. This led to the rapid development of diagnostic testing technologies. In Norway, within a week, our group developed a test kit to quickly isolate viral RNA and safely detect SARS-CoV-2 infection with sensitivity comparable to available kits. Herein, the procedure employed for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in swab samples from patients using the NTNU-COVID-19 test kit is described in detail. This procedure, based on NAxtra magnetic nanoparticles and an optimized nucleic acid extraction procedure, is robust, reliable, and straightforward, providing high-quality nucleic acids within 14 min. The NAxtra protocol is adaptable and was further validated for extraction of DNA and RNA from other types of viruses. A comparison of the protocol on different liquid handling systems is also presented. Due to the simplicity and low cost of this method, implementation of this technology to diagnose virus infections on a clinical setting would benefit health care systems, promoting sustainability.

Potential Antiviral Options against SARS-CoV-2 Infection.

As of June 2020, the number of people infected with severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continues to skyrocket, with more than 6.7 million cases worldwide. Both the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations (UN) has highlighted the need for better control of SARS-CoV-2 infections. However, developing novel virus-specific vaccines, monoclonal antibodies and antiviral drugs against SARS-CoV-2 can be time-consuming and costly. Convalescent sera and safe-in-man broad-spectrum antivirals (BSAAs) are readily available treatment options. Here, we developed a neutralization assay using SARS-CoV-2 strain and Vero-E6 cells. We identified the most potent sera from recovered patients for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2-infected patients. We also screened 136 safe-in-man broad-spectrum antivirals against the SARS-CoV-2 infection in Vero-E6 cells and identified nelfinavir, salinomycin, amodiaquine, obatoclax, emetine and homoharringtonine. We found that a combination of orally available virus-directed nelfinavir and host-directed amodiaquine exhibited the highest synergy. Finally, we developed a website to disseminate the knowledge on available and emerging treatments of COVID-19.