Diagnosing COVID-19 in nasopharyngeal secretion through Raman spectroscopy: a feasibility study

Autor(es)

Goulart, Ana Cristina Castro ; Zangaro, Renato Amaro ; Carvalho, Henrique Cunha ; Lednev, Igor K. ; Silveira, Landulfo

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: Lasers in Medical Science; v. 38, n. 1, p. 8-pg., 2023-09-12.

Resumo

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the scientific community has sought to develop fast and accurate techniques for detecting the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Raman spectroscopy is a promising technique for diagnosing COVID-19 through serum samples. In the present study, the diagnosis of COVID-19 through nasopharyngeal secretion has been proposed. Raman spectra from nasopharyngeal secretion samples (15 Control, negative and 12 COVID-19, positive, assayed by immunofluorescence antigen test) were obtained in triplicate in a dispersive Raman spectrometer (830 nm, 350 mW), accounting for a total of 80 spectra. Using principal component analysis (PCA) the main spectral differences between the Control and COVID-19 samples were attributed to N and S proteins from the virus in the COVID-19 group. Features assigned to mucin (serine, threonine and proline amino acids) were observed in the Control group. A binary model based on partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) differentiated COVID-19 versus Control samples with accuracy of 91%, sensitivity of 80% and specificity of 100%. Raman spectroscopy has a great potential for becoming a technique of choice for rapid and label-free evaluation of nasopharyngeal secretion for COVID-19 diagnosis. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 09/01788-5 - Espectroscopia Raman dispersiva utilizando fibras ópticas "Raman probe" aplicada ao diagnóstico de neoplasias na pele e próstata
• Beneficiário: Landulfo Silveira Junior
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Regular