1
|
Xing W, Wang J, Zhao C, Wang H, Bai L, Pan L, Li H, Wang H, Zhang Z, Lu Y, Chen X, Shan S, Wang D, Pan Y, Weng D, Zhou X, Huang R, He J, Jin R, Li W, Shang H, Zhong N, Cheng J. A Highly Automated Mobile Laboratory for On-site Molecular Diagnostics in the COVID-19 Pandemic. Clin Chem 2021; 67:672-683. [PMID: 33788940 PMCID: PMC8083610 DOI: 10.1093/clinchem/hvab027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2020] [Accepted: 02/01/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Infectious disease outbreaks such as the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic call for rapid response and complete screening of the suspected community population to identify potential carriers of pathogens. Central laboratories rely on time-consuming sample collection methods that are rarely available in resource-limited settings. METHODS We present a highly automated and fully integrated mobile laboratory for fast deployment in response to infectious disease outbreaks. The mobile laboratory was equipped with a 6-axis robot arm for automated oropharyngeal swab specimen collection; virus in the collected specimen was inactivated rapidly using an infrared heating module. Nucleic acid extraction and nested isothermal amplification were performed by a "sample in, answer out" laboratory-on-a-chip system, and the result was automatically reported by the onboard information platform. Each module was evaluated using pseudovirus or clinical samples. RESULTS The mobile laboratory was stand-alone and self-sustaining and capable of on-site specimen collection, inactivation, analysis, and reporting. The automated sampling robot arm achieved sampling efficiency comparable to manual collection. The collected samples were inactivated in as short as 12 min with efficiency comparable to a water bath without damage to nucleic acid integrity. The limit of detection of the integrated microfluidic nucleic acid analyzer reached 150 copies/mL within 45 min. Clinical evaluation of the onboard microfluidic nucleic acid analyzer demonstrated good consistency with reverse transcription quantitative PCR with a κ coefficient of 0.979. CONCLUSIONS The mobile laboratory provides a promising solution for fast deployment of medical diagnostic resources at critical junctions of infectious disease outbreaks and facilitates local containment of SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) transmission.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Wanli Xing
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
- National Engineering Research Center for Beijing Biochip Technology, Beijing, China
- CapitalBio Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Jiadao Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Tribology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Chao Zhao
- Department of Industrial Design, Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Han Wang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Liang Bai
- CapitalBio Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Liangbin Pan
- National Engineering Research Center for Beijing Biochip Technology, Beijing, China
- CapitalBio Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Hang Li
- National Engineering Research Center for Beijing Biochip Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Huili Wang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Zhi Zhang
- National Engineering Research Center for Beijing Biochip Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Ying Lu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | | | - Sisi Shan
- Center for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, Comprehensive AIDS Research Center, Beijing, Advanced Innovation Center for Structural Biology, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Dong Wang
- National Engineering Research Center for Beijing Biochip Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Yifei Pan
- National Engineering Research Center for Beijing Biochip Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Ding Weng
- State Key Laboratory of Tribology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | | | - Rudan Huang
- National Engineering Research Center for Beijing Biochip Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Jianxing He
- State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease and National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Ronghua Jin
- Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Weimin Li
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Hong Shang
- National Clinical Research Center for Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, No 155, Nanjing North Street, Heping District, Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China
| | - Nanshan Zhong
- State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease/National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease/National Center for Respiratory Medicine/Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health/The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jing Cheng
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
- National Engineering Research Center for Beijing Biochip Technology, Beijing, China
| |
Collapse
|