Global testing crisis averted
A potential global Covid-19 testing crisis has been avoided thanks to a team of scientists on Leeside.
There had been concerns about the shortage all over the world of a reagent called a lysis buffer used to test for the coroanavirus.
An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar recognised that a shortage of reagents was causing delays in testing for Covid-19 in the Republic of Ireland.
Working remotely for about ten days, a team of mostly Cork-based scientists developed and tested the formula themselves, which is free for other scientists to use around the world if they so wish, while production can also be scaled up if needs be.
The lysis buffer that the team formulated can be used to isolate a unique RNA nucleic acid which is the signature of the virus.
The team was spearheaded by Dr Brigid Lucey, of the Biological Sciences Department in CIT, who is President of the Academy of Clinical Science and Laboratory Medicine as well as Dr Martina Scallan from the Microbiology Department in UCC.
Dr Lucey told the Cork Independent: “Dr Scallan and I were having a chat about the lack of this reagent. There was a major concern about this chemical running out as everybody in the world was looking for it. We decided that the best thing for us to do was try out four variations of buffers to see if it would work in getting the virus out of the sample.
“We also wanted to make the virus inactive at the same time so that those handling the sample in the laboratory wouldn’t be at risk and infect those working on it. After it was tested, we found that one variation worked better than the others.”
Others involved in the project included Catherine Dempsey and Isabelle O’Callaghan from CUH, Dr John MacSharry from UCC, Prof Paul Cotter and Paula O’Connor from Teagasc, Dr Sarah Hudson and Dr Edel Durack from UL, Dr Conor Horgan and Dr Humphrey Moynihan from Lilly.
Dr Lucey also explained that only a small amount of the buffer is needed in testing for Covid-19. “For every litre we make up, we get about 2,000 tests out of it so you don’t need much of but it’s very important to have,” she added.
She concluded: “It was such a great team to work with and it was great to work on a benevolent project like this.”