Testing for Coronavirus Variants
Rutgers researchers designed a test that can detect coronavirus variants, deemed highly contagious, in just over one hour, saving the three to five days required for prior tests. The innovation is not being patented because Rutgers researchers believe it should be widely available to the public as quickly as possible. The test is easy to set up and can be adapted by labs that use varying types of equipment and methods. The breakthrough—overseen by David Alland, director of New Jersey Medical School’s Public Health Research Institute and professor and chief of infectious disease at the school—follows the work of the late Rutgers professor Andrew Brooks, director of technology development at RUCDR Infinite Biologics (now Infinity BiologiX), who led the development in March 2020 of the first saliva-based, rapid-response COVID-19 test, which can be administered at home.