Development and validation of a portable device for lab-free versatile nucleic acid extraction

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Molecular Diagnostics
• Point-of-Care Testing

Background:

• Nucleic acid testing (NAT) is crucial for diagnostics but hindered by complex sample preparation.
• Existing methods often require laboratory settings, limiting on-site diagnostic capabilities.
• There is a significant need for efficient, lab-free sample preparation for point-of-care NAT.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a portable, battery-powered device for lab-free nucleic acid extraction.
• To evaluate the performance of low centrifugal forces with commercial chemistries for sample preparation.
• To enable reliable on-site nucleic acid extraction for point-of-care diagnostic applications.

Main Methods:

• Designed and tested a portable, battery-powered device for nucleic acid extraction.
• Utilized low centrifugal forces combined with existing commercial reagents.
• Validated reagent stability for up to 6 months.
• Compared device performance against a benchtop centrifuge using HIV RNA and SARS-CoV-2 RNA samples.

Main Results:

• The portable device demonstrated excellent agreement with benchtop centrifuge results across various sample types (buffer, plasma, saliva).
• Reagents showed stability for 6 months, indicating strong deployment potential.
• The device enables efficient, lab-free nucleic acid extraction.

Conclusions:

• The developed portable device offers a viable solution for on-site sample preparation in NAT.
• This technology can enhance the sensitivity and reliability of point-of-care diagnostics.
• Widespread adoption can benefit NAT, next-generation sequencing, biomarker detection, and environmental monitoring.