Sci Rep . Optimized and scalable synthesis of magnetic nanoparticles for RNA extraction in response to developing countries' needs in the detection and control of SARS-CoV-2

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Sci Rep


. 2020 Nov 4;10(1):19004.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-75798-9.
Optimized and scalable synthesis of magnetic nanoparticles for RNA extraction in response to developing countries' needs in the detection and control of SARS-CoV-2


Julio C Chac?n-Torres ¹ , C Reinoso ² , Daniela G Navas-Le?n ³ , Sarah Brice?o ² , Gema Gonz?lez ⁴



Affiliations

• PMID: 33149153
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-75798-9

Abstract

Ecuador is one of the most affected countries, with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection, in Latin America derived from an ongoing economic crisis. One of the most important methods for COVID-19 detection is the use of techniques such as real time RT-PCR based on a previous extraction/purification of RNA procedure from nasopharyngeal cells using functionalized magnetic nanoparticles (MNP). This technique allows the processing of ~ 10,000 tests per day in private companies and around hundreds per day at local Universities guaranteeing to reach a wide range of the population. However, the main drawback of this method is the need for specialized MNP with a strong negative charge for the viral RNA extraction to detect the existence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Here we present a simplified low cost method to produce 10 g of nanoparticles in 100 mL of solution that was scaled to one litter by parallelizing the process 10 times in just two days and allowing for the possibility of making ~ 50,000 COVID-19 tests. This communication helps in reducing the cost of acquiring MNP for diverse biomolecular applications supporting developing country budgets constraints and chemical availability specially during the COVID-19 International Health Emergency.