Combating the Coronavirus Pandemic: Early Detection, Medical Treatment, and a Concerted Effort by the Global Community
Zichao Luo,
Melgious Jin Yan Ang,
Siew Yin Chan,
Zhigao Yi,
Yi Yiing Goh,
Shuangqian Yan,
Jun Tao,
Kai Liu,
Xiaosong Li,
Hongjie Zhang,
Wei Huang,
Xiaogang Liu
Affiliations
Zichao Luo
Department of Chemistry, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117543, Singapore
Melgious Jin Yan Ang
Department of Chemistry, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117543, Singapore; NUS Graduate School for Integrative Sciences and Engineering, Singapore 117456, Singapore
Siew Yin Chan
Frontiers Science Center for Flexible Electronics & Shaanxi Institute of Flexible Electronics, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, China
Zhigao Yi
Department of Chemistry, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117543, Singapore
Yi Yiing Goh
Department of Chemistry, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117543, Singapore; NUS Graduate School for Integrative Sciences and Engineering, Singapore 117456, Singapore
Shuangqian Yan
Department of Chemistry, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117543, Singapore
Jun Tao
Sports Medical Centre, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang 330000, China
Kai Liu
State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resource Utilization, Chang Chun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, China
Xiaosong Li
Department of Oncology, The Fourth Medical Center of Chinese People’s Liberation Army General Hospital, Beijing 100048, China
Hongjie Zhang
State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resource Utilization, Chang Chun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, China; Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Wei Huang
Frontiers Science Center for Flexible Electronics & Shaanxi Institute of Flexible Electronics, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, China; Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronics & Institute of Advanced Materials, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, China
Xiaogang Liu
Department of Chemistry, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117543, Singapore; The N.1 Institute for Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore; Joint School of National University of Singapore and Tianjin University, International Campus of Tianjin University, Fuzhou 350807, China
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the outbreak of 2019 novel coronavirus, known as 2019-nCoV, a pandemic, as the coronavirus has now infected over 2.6 million people globally and caused more than 185,000 fatalities as of April 23, 2020. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) causes a respiratory illness with symptoms such as dry cough, fever, sudden loss of smell, and, in more severe cases, difficulty breathing. To date, there is no specific vaccine or treatment proven effective against this viral disease. Early and accurate diagnosis of COVID-19 is thus critical to curbing its spread and improving health outcomes. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is commonly used to detect the presence of COVID-19. Other techniques, such as recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA), loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR), and microfluidics, have allowed better disease diagnosis. Here, as part of the effort to expand screening capacity, we review advances and challenges in the rapid detection of COVID-19 by targeting nucleic acids, antigens, or antibodies. We also summarize potential treatments and vaccines against COVID-19 and discuss ongoing clinical trials of interventions to reduce viral progression.
