IIT Delhi comes up with technique to detect Omicron variant in 90 minutes

The Omicron is now the new ‘variant of concern’ and researchers around the world are trying to understand it better. They are coming up with new modes of detection, treatment and planning so that it does not spread like the Delta variant.

In a new, Researchers at IIT Delhi claim that they have come up with a new RT-PCR-based technique to detect Omicron in just 90 minutes.

As per the statement issued by the institute, the new test detects specific mutations which are present in the Omicron variant and absent in other variants of COVID-19. The present identification or screening for Omicron takes over three days in which next-generation sequencing-based methods are used.

“By using this RT-PCR based assay, it will be possible to test for the presence of the Omicron variant within 90 minutes,” the statement read. The method is developed by the Kusuma School of Biological Sciences at IIT-Delhi. The new method can be particularly helpful for rapid screening analysis for the identification and isolation of people infected with the Omicron variant.

IIT Delhi has filed an Indian patent application for the same and is in the process of initiating talks with potential industry partners. Primer sets targeting these unique mutations in the S gene were designed for the specific amplification of either the Omicron variant or other currently circulating variants of SARS-CoV-2 and tested using real-time PCR.

Synthetic DNA fragments have been used to distinguish the wild-type from the Omicron variant. So far, India has reported over 40 cases where people are infected with the more infectious Omicron variant.

The Omicron is now the new ‘variant of concern’ and researchers around the world are trying to understand it better. They are coming up with new modes of detection, treatment and planning so that it does not spread like the Delta variant. In a new, Researchers at IIT Delhi claim that they have come up with a new RT-PCR-based technique to detect Omicron in just 90 minutes.

As per the statement issued by the institute, the new test detects specific mutations which are present in the Omicron variant and absent in other variants of COVID-19. The present identification or screening for Omicron takes over three days in which next-generation sequencing-based methods are used.

“By using this RT-PCR based assay, it will be possible to test for the presence of the Omicron variant within 90 minutes,” the statement read. The method is developed by the Kusuma School of Biological Sciences at IIT-Delhi. The new method can be particularly helpful for rapid screening analysis for the identification and isolation of people infected with the Omicron variant.

IIT Delhi has filed an Indian patent application for the same and is in the process of initiating talks with potential industry partners. Primer sets targeting these unique mutations in the S gene were designed for the specific amplification of either the Omicron variant or other currently circulating variants of SARS-CoV-2 and tested using real-time PCR.

Synthetic DNA fragments have been used to distinguish the wild-type from the Omicron variant. So far, India has reported over 40 cases where people are infected with the more infectious Omicron variant.