Ultrafast Molecular Diagnosis-Based Solid-Phase Photonic PCR for Respiratory Pathogen Variant Discrimination

The need for an accurate and rapid diagnosis platform for highly contagious viruses, such as pandemic viruses, has rapidly increased. Conventional diagnostic methods in the initial stage of quarantine for the prevention of epidemic spread have encountered limitations such as a long operation time, occupation of a large space, and high cost per single operation. Here, a highly sensitive and selective portable diagnostic platform based on solid-phase photonic polymerase chain reaction (SP-PCR) is reported. The thermal cycle is operated by the photothermal energy converted from the photon energy of a light-emitting diode (LED) through a gold layer to phonons. The formation of an amplicon, which is immobilized through N-heterocyclic carbene, is confirmed through fluorescence on the surface of the miniaturized SP-PCR chip. The practical applicability of the newly developed diagnosis platform for the recognition of the presence of a SARS-CoV-2-specific genome sequence is demonstrated utilizing 100 clinical samples, including 72 COVID-19-positive clinical samples and 28 negative samples.