Laura Lechuga talks about CONVAT, the project for a faster and cheaper diagnose of COVID-19
Prof. Laura M. Lechuga, Scientific Director of NANBIOSIS Unit 4 Biodeposition and Biodetection Unit (from CIBER-BBN and ICN2-CSCIC) has been today interview by Cadena Ser Radio in the program “Hoy por Hoy”
The interview can be listened in the following podcast, begining at 44 minute.
‘Convat’ is a nanotechnological device with biosensors capable of determining in less than half an hour the presence of coronavirus in a person. A sample saliva is deposited on a nanochip three centimeters long. If the saliva contains the virus, it will bind to antibodies located on the nanochip. A beam of light will be passed through the device so that the light will change if it encounters the virus and antibody in its path. The light will be analyzed automatically and the result will be transmitted to a smartphone or tablet. In less than 30 minutes a positive or negative result would be obtained and, in case of detecting the presence of the virus, in another 30 minutes at most the reconfirmation would be obtained. It is not intended for domestic use, but neither will a specialist technician be needed and it could be carried out in a massive way.
Simpler, cheaper and easier than current methods, this rapid diagnostic kit will not be ready for the first wave of the coronavirus, but it can be useful to detect it later if this virus is here to stay.
Yesterday, Laura Lechuga was also invited to explain the CONVAT project to the spanish television programe “A partir de hoy“.
‘Convat’, la prueba que puede detectar el coronavirus
Prof Laura Lechuga was also interviwed by TV3 in the program Planta Baixa
More information here
