FIG 1.
(A) PEARL workflow. (B) Comparative RT-qPCR analysis of the levels of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (N1) and RNase P RNA sequences in deidentified SARS-CoV-2-positive and -negative clinical specimen samples after RNA extraction using PEARL or an RNA extraction kit (QIAamp Mini Elute virus spin kit) in nasopharyngeal swab samples. Dotted lines indicate a limit of detection of 36 cycles. We obtained Cq values for N1 below our limit of detection in 9 negative samples out of 67. No Cq values were obtained for N1 in the remaining 58 samples. Data points correspond to the reciprocal of the Cq value (1/Cq), which is directly proportional to input RNA. P values and Spearman’s correlation coefficient (ρ) are shown.