Fully integrated sample-in-answer-out platform for viral detection using digital reverse transcription recombinase polymerase amplification (dRT-RPA)

Recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) is one of the most promising diagnostic methods for pathogen detection, owing to the simplified isothermal amplification technique. Using one-step digital reverse transcription RPA (dRT-RPA) to detect viral RNA provides a fast diagnosis and absolute quantification. Here, we present a chip that purifies, digitalizes, and detects viral RNA of SARS-CoV-2 in a fully automated and sensitive manner. The chip purifies the RNA using the surface charge concept of magnet bead-RNA binding, then mixes the RNA with the amplification reagents, digitalizes the amplification mixture, and performs dRT-RPA. RNA-bead complex is transported among purification buffers that are separated by an oil phase. For reagent manipulation and mixing, a magnetic valve system is integrated on the chip, where an external magnet controls the reagent direction and time of addition. Besides, a novel vacuum system is suggested to drive and regulate the reagents into two fluid systems simultaneously in ∼2 min. We also developed a cost-effective way to perform fluorescent detection for dRT-RPA on chip by using EvaGreen® dye. With integrated heating and optical detection system, the on-chip dRT-RPA presents a sample-to-answer detection platform for absolute viral RNA quantitation in 37 min and a sensitivity as low as 10 RNA copies/μL. Hence, this platform is expected to be a useful tool for accurate and automated diagnosis of infectious diseases.