Student discovers ultra-fast virus test for PhD
A BIRMINGHAM student has struck a blow in the war against Covid by developing an ultra-fast test for the virus.
Jake Tucker came up with the breakthrough during lockdown as part of his PhD research project at the University of Birmingham.
His father, Professor James Tucker, a professor of supramolecular chemistry at the university, gave a helping hand with the research.
The test simplifies and cuts the time of the two-step PCR process.
Jake’s research forms part of a £550 million Covid-19 rapid investment programme by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
Over the past two years, up and down the UK, thousands of research projects have been publicly funded to tackle the pandemic.
The 26-year-old’s test – RFT-EXPAR – is seen as a significant step in quelling the pandemic.
With the research conducted alongside his scientific supervisors and dad, RFT-EXPAR simplifies the current two-step PCR process, enabling it to be run at a single temperature. As a result, it is 10 times faster, but just as accurate, as PCR.
Proud father James said: “Jake was allowed special dispensation to work in the labs during the first lockdown and he worked many hours by himself in the lab on the assay. Our test, called RTF-EPXAR, is designed to be as sensitive as PCR but as fast as lateral flow. This resulted in a patent application being filed by the University of Birmingham in December 2020, and a paper in a leading journal, published in August 2021.
“Importantly, our latest results indicate that the test can be readily adapted to test for a range of pathogens, so that it can help in the fight against other diseases caused by viruses and bacteria.
“We hope to be able to licence the technology very soon.”
The team at the University of Birmingham’s
work forms part of a £550 million Covid-19 rapid investment programme by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) – the largest public funder of research and development in the UK.
The diversity of UKRI-funded projects is vast – from the world’s first Covid-19 treatments and vaccines to projects that help understand the impact of the pandemic on our economy, environment, education, arts sector and mental health.
A university spokesperson said: “This funding builds on decades of public investment and research expertise which have provided the backbone to our national COVID-19 response.”