Abstract
The emergence of COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, led to the widespread use of antigen rapid diagnostic tests (AgRDTs) due to their speed, affordability, and ease of use. However, the diagnostic sensitivity of AgRDTs has been inconsistent across emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants, with some variants exhibiting reduced detection rates. Thus, AgRDTs have been unreliable in detecting the different variants of SARS-CoV-2. This study explores the molecular mechanisms responsible for this variability, focusing on structural changes in the viral spike (S) and nucleocapsid (N) proteins and how these changes affect antigen-antibody interactions. Using structural biology techniques such as X-ray crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy, molecular virology approaches like whole genome sequencing, immunoassays including ELISA and surface plasmon resonance (SPR), and computational modelling tools for molecular dynamics simulations, this research will uncover specific mutations that impact diagnostic sensitivity. The results of this study will inform the development of next-generation AgRDTs with enhanced sensitivity across diverse viral variants, thereby supporting global efforts in pandemic surveillance and control.
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Preprint
ARPHA Preprints
https://doi.org/10.3897/arphapreprints.e152096 (06 Mar 2025)
https://doi.org/10.3897/arphapreprints.e152096 (06 Mar 2025)
Published in: Research Ideas and Outcomes https://doi.org/10.3897/rio.11.e152094
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ARPHA Preprints
doi:
10.3897/arphapreprints.e152096
First posted
06 Mar 2025
Authors
Frank Twum Twum Aboagye
- Corresponding author
Biomedical and Public Health Research Unit, CSIR-Water Research Institute, Accra, Ghana
The Graduate School, Augusta University, Georgia, United States of America
West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana
Biomedical and Public Health Research Unit, CSIR-Water Research Institute, Accra, Ghana
Biomedical and Public Health Research Unit, CSIR-Water Research Institute, Accra, Ghana
Department of Genetics and Biochemistry, Clemson University, South Carolina, United States of America
Biomedical and Public Health Research Unit, CSIR-Water Research Institute, Accra, Ghana
Biomedical and Public Health Research Unit, CSIR-Water Research Institute, Accra, Ghana
Roche Product Ghana Limited, Accra, Ghana
Yvonne A. Ashong
- Corresponding author
Department of Parasitology, Noguchi Memorial Institute of Medical Research, Accra, Ghana
Conflict of interest
The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
This is an open access preprint distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
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