Researchers at Trinity College Dublin (TCD) have developed a new technique that rapidly quantifies the transmissibility of Covid-19 variants.

The new nanomechanical technique allows for fast, one-step tests, which can quantify the immune response that is induced by different Covid-19 variants in serum. This provides a new tool for tracking infection immunity over time and for analysing new vaccine candidates.

The researchers’ quantitative assay enables direct classification of variant-binding properties for screening emerging variants.

The new test is just as sensitive as the existing and commonly used ELISA test, however it takes a fraction of the time.

The researchers focused on Covid-19 variants of concern and their generated humoral immune response. Humoral immunity is an antibody-mediated response that occurs when foreign material is detected in the body. Given that the Covid-19 virus has developed substantial mutations in the spike protein, this can undermine the efficacy of current vaccines and monoclonal antibody therapies.

This new technology developed by the TCD team can assist vaccine development studies in phases one to three, focusing on comparing patterns and analysing novel vaccine candidates.

The research was led by Prof Martin Hegner, principal investigator in the Trinity Centre for Research on Adaptive Nanostructures and Nanodevices (CRANN).

“Our measurements match the statistical analysis of, for example, the transmissibility of the alpha variant that can otherwise only be gained by analysing the development of the disease proliferation within a population over weeks. We believe that this new technology can improve and speed up the public health guidance process,” Prof Hegner explained.

He pointed out that this technique is simpler and more cost-effective than ELISA.

“This direct technique greatly simplifies the preparation protocol that in ELISA includes many washings and waiting steps, hence reducing the amount of consumables needed and thus the relative cost. It will therefore be well suited to use in emergency situations,” he said.

Details of this new technique are published in the journal, Nanoscale Advances, and can be viewed here.