1. Carrageenan from Gigartina skottsbergii : A Novel Molecular Probe to Detect SARS-CoV-2.
- Author
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Zank PD, Cerveira MM, Santos VBD, Klein VP, Souza TT, Bueno DT, Poletti T, Leitzke AF, Luehring Giongo J, Carreño NLV, Mansilla A, Astorga-España MS, Pereira CMP, and Vaucher RA
- Subjects
- Humans, Carrageenan chemistry, Molecular Probes, Pandemics, Molecular Diagnostic Techniques methods, RNA, Viral genetics, Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques methods, Sensitivity and Specificity, SARS-CoV-2 genetics, COVID-19 diagnosis
- Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented health and economic crisis, highlighting the importance of developing new molecular tools to monitor and detect SARS-CoV-2. Hence, this study proposed to employ the carrageenan extracted from Gigartina skottsbergii algae as a probe for SARS-CoV-2 virus binding capacity and potential use in molecular methods. G. skottsbergii specimens were collected in the Chilean subantarctic ecoregion, and the carrageenan was extracted -using a modified version of Webber's method-, characterized, and quantified. After 24 h of incubation with an inactivated viral suspension, the carrageenan's capacity to bind SARS-CoV-2 was tested. The probe-bound viral RNA was quantified using the reverse transcription and reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) methods. Our findings showed that carrageenan extraction from seaweed has a similar spectrum to commercial carrageenan, achieving an excellent proportion of binding to SARS-CoV-2, with a yield of 8.3%. Viral RNA was also detected in the RT-LAMP assay. This study shows, for the first time, the binding capacity of carrageenan extracted from G. skottsbergii , which proved to be a low-cost and highly efficient method of binding to SARS-CoV-2 viral particles.
- Published
- 2023
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