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Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference: EP/V02874X/1
Title: Rapid, portable, and scalable Covid-19 antibody testing
Principal Investigator: Howorka, Dr S
Other Investigators:
Singer, Professor M
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Oxford Nanopore Technologies
Department: Chemistry
Organisation: UCL
Scheme: Standard Research
Starts: 05 September 2020 Ends: 04 March 2022 Value (£): 441,118
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
Healthcare
Related Grants:
Panel History:  
Summary on Grant Application Form
Determining antibody levels in humans is crucial for monitoring immunity against Covid-19 and

tackling the national crisis. Antibody levels report about a previous infection and help decide

whether people can return to work or live with others without spreading the disease. To be

effective for national screening, antibody testing should deliver accurate results to individuals

ideally within minutes, and be portable as well as high-throughput. Existing techniques based on

immunosorbent assays do not deliver these benefits due to the need for multiple liquid handling

steps, signal amplification, insufficient accuracy, or read-out with bulky optical equipment.

This project will deliver fast, portable, high-throughput and accurate antibody sensing by

pioneering step-changing sensor nanopores from the lead PI at University College London

Chemistry (UCLC), and by integrating them into memory-stick-sized on-the-market kits from

industrial partner and biotech unicorn Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT). These MinION

analysis kits have ushered in a revolution in portable DNA sequencing and are currently used for

unravelling the Covid-19 sequence. The PI has a strong working relationship with the company and

has licensed sequencing pore technology which has been one key component to make the MinION

a success. In this project, the technology will be adapted with wider nanopores tailored for Covid-

19 antibodies. The new sensor pores can be plugged into the existing MinION kits without the

need for redesigning the device, thereby ensuring production to scale. The devices will be clinically

tested and benchmarked by Co-PI and intensive care and monitoring specialist Prof. Mervyn Singer

at UCL Medicine (UCLM). All project partners have previously successfully worked together in joint

grants, for publications, or via technology licensing contracts.
Key Findings
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Potential use in non-academic contexts
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Impacts
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Summary
Date Materialised
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