The portable, fast and ultra-sensitive device for detecting the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is being developed at the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw. The work financed by the Foundation for Polish Science (FNP) under the Intelligent Development program is headed by Dr Agnieszka Michota-Kamińska.

The new diagnostic device will allow the identification of SARS-CoV-2 in just a few minutes through nasopharyngeal swabs or blood samples taken from patients. The test will be very reliable because it will provide a sensitivity of 98 percent. The device will be portable and small, which will allow to use it in doctor’s offices or directly at patients’ beds.

Unlike the tests used so far, the new diagnostic device will detect the coronavirus using its Raman spectrum.

Each molecule has its own characteristic Raman spectrum, it is its so-called fingerprint that allows to identify it with great sensitivity and selectivity. We are going to use the surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) technique in our device, – says Dr Agnieszka Michota-Kamińska.