ICT researchers work on Covid-19 rapid testing kit

The Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), Matunga, is developing an indigenous rapid testing kit, RTqPCR 2.0, for the detection of Covid-19 at almost half the

The Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), Matunga, is developing an indigenous rapid testing kit, RTqPCR 2.0, for the detection of Covid-19 at almost half the cost of the existing test.

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A five-member team of researchers from the institute, in association with the Indian Institutes of Technology Alumni Council, is creating a one-step lyophilised real time Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) kit that can detect a host of diseases. The kit will contain a testing reagent that is in dry state and can be stored in room temperature.

Currently, RT-PCR test is one of the most effective diagnostic tools for confirmation of Covid-19 owing to its qualitative results. However, since the cost of the test is high and the method of detection is complex, the use of the test is limited across the country.

The existing RT-PCR tests, which have been either adopted or imported from other countries, require sophisticated refrigerators to store the reagent. This increases the cost of the test significantly. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has capped the cost of the test at ₹4,500.

“The reagent is in liquid state and has to be stored at -20° C. It requires standardised and quality-controlled refrigeration facility, which makes it unsuitable for tropical countries like India. Especially in rural India, such refrigeration facilities are not available,” said Ratnesh Jain, coordinator of the project.

The scientists are lyophilising this reagent — or drying it out — to a solid powder state that can be stored at room temperature. “This reagent can then be mixed with water and used for the diagnosis,” said Jain. The process of lyophilisation is not new to the institute that has in the past done the same for pharmaceutical and food industries.

According to Jain, lyophilising traditionally helps pharmaceutical companies cut manufacturing cost by two to three times. The product is in development stage and will soon be ready depending on how the funding flows in, he added. It will be available in the MegaLab, an initiative of the IIT Alumni Council to build a lab in Mumbai with the capacity of conducting 10 million Covid-19 tests a month.

Apart from Covid-19, the kits will have the ability to detect tuberculosis, dengue, chikungunya, HIV, Hepatitis, select cancers and some sexually transmitted diseases. With this, ICT has joined the league of technical institutes that are working on indigenous variants of the Covid-19 tests.

“MegaLab Mumbai and RTqPCR 2.0 are excellent initiatives by IIT Alumni Council in the fight against Covid-19. It will meet the immediate need for mass testing through reliable, faster and cheaper genetic diagnostics, in addition to becoming a showpiece for indigenous technology and engineering capability,” said Anirudha Pandit, vice chancellor of ICT, Mumbai and one of the investigators of the project.