The Royal Institution for the Advancement of Learning/McGill University

Published purpose

The aim of this Project is to generate flexible-use, automated devices for rapid and efficient SARS-CoV-2 genome sequencing in order to enable early detection and molecular epidemiology studies to inform public health policies. The device will be based on the PowerBlade system and should be able to perform complex molecular steps, from virus RNA reverse transcription, to PCR amplification and library preparation for rapid sequencing by nanopore technology. The Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) reaction will also be adopted in combination with nanopore sequencing and applied in the form of a sequencing based rapid molecular test. These devices will be suitable for rapid deployment in the case of COVID-19 threats, as well as future threats in public health laboratories, diagnostic laboratories in hospitals, genomics laboratories and sequence service providers in academia, and the private sector, as well as suitable for point-of-need deployment, including remote locations. The combination of PowerBlade and Nanopore represents a potential flexible, mobile solution, which allows deployment in locations that do not have substantial genomics infrastructure, and therefore, enables the wide use of this system. This should enable low cost-fast turnaround genome sequencing and targeted sequencing in order to identify high risk SARS-CoV-2 virus variants in response to outbreaks and inform public health authorities.