Thread by @V_Saggiomo

Finally is out, our super cheap, easy to produce in millions, almost universal, and with low waste impact nucleic acid detection (LAMP test for #COVID19) non-instrumental device. The answer is: a Nespresso capsule. The question is: why we did this? 1/n
chemrxiv.org/articles/prepr…

In a pandemic of such dimension, the centralised testing is a problem. A decentralised testing solution would simplify the detection and containment of the virus. Testing millions of people per day is unfeasible in centralised testing, while doable using tests at home 2/n

For home testing you need a test which is simple to use and incredible sturdy. LAMP is perfect (better than PCR) and many groups are working on saliva rather than swab for simplifying the process. No one was working on the device to run the LAMP and that's where we started. 3/n

This device should:
1) be cheap to produce and to buy
2) be easy to produce in millions in short amount of time
3) be universal to use, independently on income, logistics, electricity and so on
4) not produce large amount of waste
4/n

in literature you can find a lot of cheap electronics for LAMP, for example a sous vide or Arduino (our previous reseach). But a) you cannot produce them in millions in a few days and b) they will produce tons of e-waste
5/n

then you have non-instrumental LAMP, where a phase change material is heated using an exothermic reaction. This is cheap and useful for in-field, but you need to ship highly reactive chemicals, which then should be used by untrained personnel at home. Not really the way to go
6/n

at the end of a quite long process of testing different materials and heating units, we ended up with a LAMP devices composed of:
a) a Nespresso capsule
b) few grams of phase change material
c) a 3D printed holder for the vials.
7/n

when you put this device in boiling water and stop the heating, the device is able to keep the temperature constant for 30 minutes. More than enough for a LAMP reaction. The thin aluminium of the capsule also helps in reaching the temperature in a few minutes
8/n

For using it, you just need water and heat, without the need of highly reactive chemicals for making the exothermic reaction. It's almost universal, but some places are unfortunately still without access to water. 9/n

We tested it with synthetic RNA but also with samples from patients and well, it just works 10/n

Waste wise: you have an aluminium capsule which can be easily recycled (Nespresso have already factories for this). The PCM is literally wax, so you can burn it away. And the 3D printed holder is from PLA, which is, in principle, biodegradable. 11/n

at the end we have a LAMP device which can be used at home and:
1)is cheap
2)is easy to produce in millions in short amount of time
3)is simple to use (just need water and heat)
4)doesn't produce large amount of waste
12/n

Fun facts:
Things at home you can/cannot use for running a LAMP reaction:
dishwasher: yes but unreliable (and I've lost one sample)
washing machine: no
microwave: no no no
3D printer bed: yes, and very good actually
clothes iron: no
MacBook while on Teams: maybe :D
13/n

This project was done together with @TNO_Research and thanks to a small grant from TKI @HealthHolland. And thanks to @sciSonja who put us in contact with TNO during the first lockdown.
We still have plenty of PCM, and hundreds of devices, so if you want to try them....
14/n

Easter egg: do you know which kind of Nespresso capsule I used for the pictures? :D

For people interested:
I've also done a short slide presentation (and even remembered to record it :) for explaining the research. #CoroNaspresso

full YouTube video here: