TABLE 1.
Evaluation of the advantages/disadvantages of SARS-CoV-2 detection technology.
| Methods | Assay name | Targeted genes | Sample type | Minimum detection limit | TAT/ test |
Advantages | Disadvantages | References |
| Nucleic acid-based molecular biology diagnostics | ||||||||
| RT-PCR | Cobas® SARS-CoV-2 Test (Roche) | ORF-1a, E | Nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs | Target 1: 25 copies/mL (95% CI: 17wabsiopies/mL); Target 2: 32 copies/ml (95% CI: 21–73 copies/mL) | 3–4 h | High specificity and sensitivity | High rate of false negatives, and has experimental operation and cost requirements | Staff, 2016 |
| RT-PCR | ID NOW COVID-19 assay (Abbott) | RdRp | Nasal, Throat, and Nasopharyngeal swabs | NA | ≤ 13 min | Farfour et al., 2021 | ||
| RT-LAMP | Biofire Filmarray RP-2.1 (bioMerieux) | RdRp, N, E | Nasopharyngeal swab in transport media or saline | NA | ∼45 min | No need to raise or lower temperature; short reaction time; simple procedure | Non-specific amplification is difficult to identify | Martinez et al., 2016 |
| CRISPR-Cas system | CRISPR-Cas12-based assay (Cepheid) | N, E | Respiratory swabs | NA | ≤ 40 min | Suitable for point-of-care testing (POCT) | Possible care target” phenomenon | Broughton et al., 2020 |
| Serological diagnosis based on antigen-antibody | ||||||||
| FIA | Sofia 2 Flu + SARS Antigen FIA (Quidel Corporation) | N | Nasal swab, Nasopharyngeal swab | 91.7 TCID50/ml | 15–20 min | High sensitivity, simple reagents | Window period, easy to miss diagnosis, cross reaction | Brihn et al., 2021 |
| MESIA | Sampinute COVID-19 Antigen MIA (Celltrion USA, Inc.) | S | Nasopharyngeal swab | 1.2 × 102 TCID50/ml | 15–20 min | Magnetic control, high sensitivity | target is susceptible to virus mutation. | Mahmoudinobar et al., 2021 |
| LF-CGIA | BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Card Home Test (Abbott Diagnostic Scarborough Inc.) | N | Nasal swab | 140.6 TCID50/ml | 15–20 min | Positive results are very accurate, easy to operate | Negative does not rule out infection | Okoye et al., 2021 |
| CDI | BD Veritor System for Rapid Detection of SARS-CoV-2 (Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD)) | N | Nasal swab | 1.4 × 102 TCID50/ml | 15–20 min | Van der Moeren et al., 2020 | ||
| Diagnostic medical imaging | ||||||||
| CT | / | / | / | / | About 1 h | More accurate in determining disease status | Cannot be distinguished from other viral pneumonia | |
| Artificial intelligence: CT combined with algorithm-based deep learning | / | / | / | / | About 1 h | Diagnostic capability based on continuous optimization of algorithms | AI recognition models need to pass a certain time in training, and the technical requirements are high | |
| Viral culture | / | / | / | / | Strains can be isolated for other experiments; High accuracy of culture results | Very time-consuming; labor-intensive; requires high professional knowledge of operators; requires high biological safety | ||