At present, Jonathan Rothberg's team is working around the clock to achieve its goals. The team members are mainly scientists from homodeus, a synthetic biology company.
The working principle of the home detection kit they developed is as follows:
The user first uses a cotton swab to sample some cells from the inside of the nose or mouth. Then, according to the attached instructions, immerse the swabs into three test tubes in turn. The swabs will have a chemical reaction in each test tube, but the final result depends on the change of the third test tube, that is, the last test tube.
In the first test tube, the cells on the swab will be "broken", thus exposing the genetic material inside the cell; In the second test tube, the "primer" will try to find viral RNA. If viral RNA is found, complementary DNA will be added to the RNA to form double stranded molecules. After putting the swab into the third test tube, the customized enzyme will replicate a large number of DNA, making it easier to detect the genetic material of the virus; Another group of enzymes is responsible for chromogenic work - if the color of the liquid in the test tube has changed (if it is red), it has been proved that the user of the kit has been infected with COVID-19. If the user is not infected, the liquid will become another color (other colors other than red); If there is no change in the color of the liquid, the test fails.
Users can also take photos of the test tube with their mobile phones and upload it to the corresponding app to get more detailed information. The relevant test results will also be automatically submitted to the public health department.