Novel Coronavirus test kits can be divided into two categories according to the testing principle: nucleic acid test kits and antibody test kits, both of which are clinically used to confirm Novel coronavirus infection.  

Nucleic acid testing kit  

The use of the nucleic acid test kit is as follows: a large pharyngeal swab is taken from the respiratory tract, a non-invasive sample is collected, and then tested against the nucleic acid (viral RNA) of the Novel Coronavirus to determine whether the sample provider is infected with the Novel Coronavirus.  

The kit works roughly as follows: It extracts RNA from a patient's sample, performs reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), amplifies tiny amounts of virus information in the sample, and then reads the signal with fluorescence. If the signal is positive after PCR, the virus is present in the sample (infected), and if it is not, it is not infected.  

Nucleic acid test kit components: reaction solution, enzyme mixture, negative control and positive control. The positive control was a mixture of fake viruses containing ORF1ab and N genes.  

Antibody detection Kit  

The use of antibody detection kit is to collect blood samples and detect whether the blood contains novel Coronavirus antibody IgM and IgG, so as to determine whether the sample provider is infected with novel Coronavirus. (Two antibodies, IgG and IgM, are produced by the immune system against novel coronavirus infection.)  

The working principle of antibody detection kit is roughly as follows: Novel coronavirus infection stimulates plasma cells to produce specific antibodies. By using the principle of specific combination of antigen and antibody, the existence of antibody can be detected through antigen, thus indirectly proving that the human body has been infected with novel Coronavirus. The detected antibodies are mainly divided into IgM and IgG. There is currently a lack of systematic studies on the generation and duration of these two types of antibodies in novel Coronavirus. In general, IgM antibodies are produced early, produced quickly once infected, maintained for a short time and disappeared quickly. Positive detection in blood can be used as an indicator of early infection. IgG antibodies are produced late, maintained for a long time, and disappear slowly. Positive detection in blood can be used as an indicator of infection and previous infection.  

Components of antibody detection kit: antibody detection reagent card and diluent. The antibody detection reagent card is used to wrap novel coronavirus antigen on nitrocellulose membrane to capture novel coronavirus antibodies (mainly IgG and IgM antibodies) in samples.