Figure 3.

Detection of SARS‐CoV‐2 RNA, heat‐inactivated SARS‐CoV‐2, and clinical samples in 30 min. a) In detecting SARS‐CoV‐2 RNA, the bulk assay can detect ten genome equivalent (GE) µL⁻¹, while deCOViD can detect 1 GE µL⁻¹, or a tenfold improvement. This RNA detection sensitivity also outstrips existing CRISPR/Cas‐assisted assays. b) In detecting heat‐inactivated SARS‐CoV‐2, the bulk assay can detect 100 GE µL⁻¹, while deCOViD can detect 20 GE µL⁻¹, or a fivefold improvement. Notably, both assays can readily detect heat‐inactivated SARS‐CoV‐2 without RNA extraction. c) When testing RNA extracts from clinical nasopharyngeal swabs, both the bulk assay and deCOViD can differentiate positive samples from the negative sample and the influenza sample. Data in (a) and (b) presented as mean ± SD, n = 3.