‘Feluda Test’ for COVID-19

Coronavirus test - Medical worker taking a swab for corona virus sample from potentially infected woman with the isolation gown or protective suits and surgical face masks

In News

India has approved Feluda Test for detecting COVID-19.

In-Detail

  • The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) launched an accurate and low-cost paper-based test strip to detect COVID-19 in less than 30 minutes for commercial use.
  • The test has been named as Feluda by the research team of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Tata Group.
  • Feluda is a fictional private detective from West Bengal created by the writer and filmmaker Satyajit Ray.

New Feluda Test

  • Feluda is known as FNCAS9 Editor Linked Uniform Detection Assay.
  • It uses CRISPR gene-editing technology to identify and target the genetic material of SARS-CoV2.
  • The test matches the accuracy levels of RT-PCR tests and is considered as the gold standard in the diagnosis of COVID-19.
  • It has a quick turnaround time and requires cost-effective equipment.
  • The US is the first country in the world to approve a CRISPR-based test for COVID-19. This test was developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University.
  • The Tata’s Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) test powered by CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB) Feluda has met the benchmark with 96% sensitivity and 98% specificity for detecting coronavirus.
  • Feluda is the world’s first diagnostic test to deploy a specifically adapted Cas9 protein.
  • To detect SARS-CoV2, the other CRISPR tests uses CAS12 and CAS 13 protein.
  • The research team created the new test kit while working under the sickle cell mission for genome diagnostics and therapeutics.

CRISPR Technology

  • CRISPR is a gene-editing technology and is used in correcting genetic defects, treating and preventing the spread of the diseases.
  • It can detect specific sequences of DNA within a gene.
  • It uses an enzyme functioning as molecular scissors to snip the DNA sequence.
  • It allows for easy alteration of the DNA sequences and modify gene function.
  • CRISPR technology can be configured for the detection of multiple pathogens in the future.

Significance of Feluda

  • The approval of Feluda addresses the urgent need for ramping up testing capacity in the country to curtail the spread of coronavirus.
  • It is relatively easy to use and is affordable than the expensive RT-PCR machines being used to test the sample.
  • The short period of 30 minutes for results will also enable faster detection of COVID-19 patients and treatment can be initiated immediately.
  • The development of the test kit while working on sickle cell mission for genome diagnostics shows the interconnectedness of scientific knowledge and technology.
  • According to the innovators, the ‘Made in India’ test kit is 100% safe to use and is of high-quality.

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