SATiN is the first COVID-19 serology test that uses highly sensitive protein complementation chemistry in which a light-emitting luciferase protein is reconstituted from separate fragments as test rea
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dout.
Luciferase is initially supplied in fragments that cannot not glow on their own. One piece is attached on the viral spike protein, which antibodies bind to neutralise the virus, while another is hooked to a bacterial protein that antibodies also interact with. By binding simultaneously to the coronavirus spike protein and the bacterial protein, the antibody helps lock luciferase pieces together into a whole molecule. A flash of light ensues whose intensity is detected and converted into antibody concentration by a plate reader instrument. All reagents can be prepared from scratch and in bulk and this keeps the cost down.
Publication:
Zhong Yao, Luka Drecun, Farzaneh Aboualizadeh, Sun Jin Kim, Zhijie Li, Heidi Wood, Emelissa J. Valcourt, Kathy Manguiat, Simon Plenderleith, Lily Yip, Xinliu Li, Zoe Zhong, Elizabeth Yue, Jamie Snider, Jelena Tomic, Michael Drebot, Allison McGeer, Mario Ostrowski, Samira Mubareka, James Rini, Shawn Owen, Igor Stagljar (2021) A Homogeneous Split-Luciferase Assay for Rapid and Sensitive Detection of Anti-SARS CoV-2 Antibodies; Nature Comminications in press
