through saline solution, tiny gold nanoparticles and paper with antibodies, and a unique biochemical reaction – provides us with faster, more economical and more convenient and relatively accurate results (compared to nucleic acid testing, the reliability of self-test products is low).
Note: The new crown antigen rapid self-test kit was launched earlier in Europe and the United States, and some of its products are from Chinese manufacturers. This is mainly due to the stricter approval by Chinese regulators for the domestic application of COVID-19 antigen self-test products.
Nasopharyngeal swab collection (keep turning for 15 seconds), drop the solution into the kit, wait for the results… through a unique biochemical reaction, along with saline solution, tiny gold nanoparticles, and test strips with antibodies, give us Fast and relatively accurate detection results. It’s such a great feeling.
Dr. Kate Biberdorf’s hands-on test begins!
The new crown antigen rapid self-test kit can be performed by oropharyngeal swab or nasopharyngeal swab (keep turning for 15 seconds).
“Poke the swab down the back of the throat, it’s disgusting, ah, well, well, that’s all I can do.”
Epidemiologists suggest that for some special variants, such as Omicron, we need to look for the highest viral load, so a throat swab might be the best option for a quick self-test.
One fact: Some people swab their noses and come back negative. Then they swab their throats and they came back positive.
Once we have collected our own samples, we can use the rapid self-test kit for the new crown antigen to generate a chemical reaction.
The collected sample is first placed in a buffer solution (almost entirely above 99% saline solution).
The chemistry involved in this includes: phosphate buffer solution → conjugate acid and conjugate base → sodium hydrogen phosphate and potassium dihydrogen phosphate (which lock the pH of the solution at around 7.4).
Acids, bases and buffer solutions create a conjugate acid base pair. Conjugate acids and conjugate bases are two different molecules that are almost identical except for one hydrogen atom.
Buffered solutions are resistant to huge changes in pH, and if an acid is present, the conjugated group will kill it off and keep it at pH 7.4 (pH 7.4 is the same pH as our blood, which helps to mimic the human body situation).
Now that the test sample is locked, let’s put a few drops of the solution into the kit. “One, two, three, four, well done!”
The place where the “S” is written on the kit (sample detection hole) is where the gold nanoparticles live.
“There’s so little gold in it that you can’t sell it, let alone turn it into a gold necklace, you can’t even see them.”
If the terminal protein of the new coronavirus is present in the sample, the antibody will grab it. These antibodies are a specific antigen in the immune response (antigens are also part of the virus).
On a scientific level, any foreign object that gets into your body could be an antigen, including pollen. It’s just that we talk about it in the context of the virus a lot of the time.
In the next few minutes, you will see the color of the test strip change.
The new crown detection reagent has two representations, one is “C” (quality control line), and the other is “T” (test line). The “C” area usually shows whether the reagent is effective, and if only the “C” changes color, the test result is negative. If both the “C” and “T” are discolored, it means that the test result for the new coronavirus is positive.
In simple terms, all we have to do is make sure that the “T” line doesn’t change color within the allotted time.
Post time: May-27-2022