Montana State University recently received a $776,000 grant of federal CARES Act funds from the state to support research intended to create a faster, cheaper COVID-19 test. | Wikimedia Commons
Montana State University recently received a $776,000 grant of federal CARES Act funds from the state to support research intended to create a faster, cheaper COVID-19 test. | Wikimedia Commons
A $776,000 state grant paid for with federal CARES Act money will help to fund research and development of a complementary COVID-19 testing method by faculty at Montana State University.
The objective of the team of 12 is to develop a less costly test for identifying those carrying the coronavirus, according to a post on the university website.
Connie Chang, an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering who specializes in microfluidics, the creation and scientific use of tiny droplets of fluid in genomic and bacterial studies, is leading the team, according to the release.
The loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) test they are working to develop would enable results within 30 minutes of a saliva sample being gathered, according to the post.
“There’s a lot of research exploring LAMP right now because of its speed,” Chang said in the release. “With the technology that we’re developing, we think we can trim the result time even more. It’s an exciting developing technology for point-of-care testing, and that’s why a lot of people are working on it right now.”
Alerts Sign-up