Health workers clad in protective gear carry out a COVID-19 test on a citizen at a makeshift virus testing clinic in Seoul on Nov. 26, 2020. (Yonhap)
GWANGJU, Feb. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — A campus startup operating under the umbrella of a South Korean university has developed a new method as an alternative to COVID-19 nasal swab testing.
The method enables a relatively painless collection of specimens without giving for those who take COVID-19 tests.
BIO3S from Chonnam National University said Thursday it had developed an innovative method to collect a high density of virus within the mouth through gargling.
The campus startup released a related product called ‘Bean Guard Gargle’ and launched the product in the market.
BIO3S developed the method by using a horse bean with a specific component that can be combined with the virus strongly attached to the surface of the skin, making it easily detached.
The ‘oral gargling’ method eliminates the need to use deep nasal swabs that are painful and generally unpleasant for those getting COVID-19 tests.
If the new method is used in antigen test kit tests, it could greatly increase the sensitivity, thereby contributing to improving test speed while also offering cost savings.
According to clinical tests conducted by a research team from Jeonbuk National University Hospital, oral gargling can replace deep nasal swab polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests since it enables a high-density collection of the virus within the mouth.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
