Promising new technique discovered which detects COVID-19.

Research is continuous in the diagnostic industry to find out more about the performance of antibody testing for COVID-19. This has led to an interest in alternative confirmatory methods that may not have been conventional previously.

A new technique; MALDI-TOF, also known as Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization-Time Of Flight, is able to detect whether an individual once had the virus, or if they still do due to its unique protein structure.

In the global fight to find a reliable and accurate way to detect the strain, this is certainly promising. With the test only taking 30 minutes to produce a result, this new technology should be able to keep up with the required pace of testing, as well as combat the development of new strains as it can detect new strains as well as measuring the viral load.

Global Asset Index, with the support of our team at Text Mining Solutions, has created a database which reveals the global market share of MALDI-TOF manufacturers.

The pie chart shows that the leading manufacturers of this innovative technology are Bruker, Applied Biosystems International, Perseptive Biosystems and Shimadzu – information which is crucial at this incredibly challenging time.

The chart was generated based on the laboratory equipment database, which contains a record of over a million pieces of scientific equipment. The tool’s variety of search functions enables users to collate in-depth information that can be adapted to their individual requirements.

This intelligence is invaluable to instrument manufacturers and research teams which are looking to use MALDI-TOF technology. The developers of the technology are saying that it could make a huge contribution to the government’s plans to increase testing capacity and strengthen the UK’s diagnostic industry. With each device delivering up to 1,000 test results per machine over a 24-hour period, this may be the boost which the UK needs to overcome the fight against COVID-19.