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New Prototype Test

Researchers in France have developed a new nanobody-based test for SARS-CoV-2 that initial testing suggests may be highly accurate, the Guardian reports.

It adds that the prototype test, called CorDial-1, from researchers at the University of Lille and elsewhere relies on camelid nanobodies, which are immobilized on an electrode and serve as a sort of electrochemical biosensor. The nanobodies react to the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, which changes the electrical current across the sensor, the Guardian says. It adds that the current change is then detected by a small device that can be attached to a smartphone. 

"You start your mobile phone, a signal will occur, and depending on the height of the signal, you can say if you're COVID positive or negative," Lille's Sabine Szunerits says, according to CBS Miami.

It adds that an initial analysis using 300 samples found the test to be 90 percent accurate and delivered results within 10 minutes, noting that the researchers are now conducting a larger three-month trial involving 1,000 people.