A novel coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2 has caused the emergency release of the most well-known molecular assay, the CDC N1 RT-PCR assay, causing reports of poor analytical performance resulting in false-negative results (20, 26), and inconsistent testing kits received (23, 32). An immediate and dire need for a rapid and reliable SARS-CoV-2 testing workflow specifically designed for a university setting is the purpose this project is aiming and intended to fulfill. The workflow design uses a less invasive saliva sample for rapid screening using colorimetric RT-LAMP detection of three SARS-CoV-2 gene regions for Orf1ab, envelope, and nucleocapsid. Purified SARS-CoV-2 genomic RNA is spiked into Proteinase K and heat-treated saliva from a SARS-CoV-2 negative donor to simulate a positive donor sample used to characterize and optimize this workflow, detecting 200 copies of SARS-CoV-2 genomic RNA by all three gene targets. The utility of colorimetric RT-LAMP outperformed the CDC N1 RT-PCR assay in turn-around-time and analytical performance. When applied to a small surveillance study, five out of 47 asymptomatic saliva donors had (September 2020) detectable SARS-CoV-2 genetic material, resulting in a 10% positivity rate, with the campus dashboard reporting
","abstract_html":"<p>A novel coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2 has caused the emergency release of the most well-known molecular assay, the CDC N1 RT-PCR assay, causing reports of poor analytical performance resulting in false-negative results (20, 26), and inconsistent testing kits received (23, 32). An immediate and dire need for a rapid and reliable SARS-CoV-2 testing workflow specifically designed for a university setting is the purpose this project is aiming and intended to fulfill. The workflow design uses a less invasive saliva sample for rapid screening using colorimetric RT-LAMP detection of three SARS-CoV-2 gene regions for Orf1ab, envelope, and nucleocapsid. Purified SARS-CoV-2 genomic RNA is spiked into Proteinase K and heat-treated saliva from a SARS-CoV-2 negative donor to simulate a positive donor sample used to characterize and optimize this workflow, detecting 200 copies of SARS-CoV-2 genomic RNA by all three gene targets. The utility of colorimetric RT-LAMP outperformed the CDC N1 RT-PCR assay in turn-around-time and analytical performance. When applied to a small surveillance study, five out of 47 asymptomatic saliva donors had (September 2020) detectable SARS-CoV-2 genetic material, resulting in a 10% positivity rate, with the campus dashboard reporting</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Juntila, Casey"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Clinical Sciences","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Matthew Jennings"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2021,"date_issued":"2021-07-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2021-07-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:24:17Z","subjects":["SARS-COV-2","RT-LAMP","molecular diagnostics","Molecular Genetics"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.nmu.edu/theses/679","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Matthew Jennings"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Juntila, Casey"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2021-07-06T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Clinical Sciences"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["SARS-COV-2","RT-LAMP","molecular diagnostics","Molecular Genetics"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.nmu.edu/theses/679"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["A novel coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2 has caused the emergency release of the most well-known molecular assay, the CDC N1 RT-PCR assay, causing reports of poor analytical performance resulting in false-negative results (20, 26), and inconsistent testing kits received (23, 32). An immediate and dire need for a rapid and reliable SARS-CoV-2 testing workflow specifically designed for a university setting is the purpose this project is aiming and intended to fulfill. The workflow design uses a less invasive saliva sample for rapid screening using colorimetric RT-LAMP detection of three SARS-CoV-2 gene regions for Orf1ab, envelope, and nucleocapsid. Purified SARS-CoV-2 genomic RNA is spiked into Proteinase K and heat-treated saliva from a SARS-CoV-2 negative donor to simulate a positive donor sample used to characterize and optimize this workflow, detecting 200 copies of SARS-CoV-2 genomic RNA by all three gene targets. The utility of colorimetric RT-LAMP outperformed the CDC N1 RT-PCR assay in turn-around-time and analytical performance. When applied to a small surveillance study, five out of 47 asymptomatic saliva donors had (September 2020) detectable SARS-CoV-2 genetic material, resulting in a 10% positivity rate, with the campus dashboard reporting
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["SENSITIVE AND SPECIFIC DETECTION OF SARS-COV-2 IN SALIVA USING REVERSE TRANSCRIPTASE LOOP-MEDIATED ISOTHERMAL AMPLIFICATION"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Matthew Jennings"],"dc:creator":["Juntila, Casey"],"dc:date.available":["2021-07-06T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["A novel coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2 has caused the emergency release of the most well-known molecular assay, the CDC N1 RT-PCR assay, causing reports of poor analytical performance resulting in false-negative results (20, 26), and inconsistent testing kits received (23, 32). An immediate and dire need for a rapid and reliable SARS-CoV-2 testing workflow specifically designed for a university setting is the purpose this project is aiming and intended to fulfill. The workflow design uses a less invasive saliva sample for rapid screening using colorimetric RT-LAMP detection of three SARS-CoV-2 gene regions for Orf1ab, envelope, and nucleocapsid. Purified SARS-CoV-2 genomic RNA is spiked into Proteinase K and heat-treated saliva from a SARS-CoV-2 negative donor to simulate a positive donor sample used to characterize and optimize this workflow, detecting 200 copies of SARS-CoV-2 genomic RNA by all three gene targets. The utility of colorimetric RT-LAMP outperformed the CDC N1 RT-PCR assay in turn-around-time and analytical performance. When applied to a small surveillance study, five out of 47 asymptomatic saliva donors had (September 2020) detectable SARS-CoV-2 genetic material, resulting in a 10% positivity rate, with the campus dashboard reporting
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.nmu.edu/theses/679"],"dc:subject":["SARS-COV-2","RT-LAMP","molecular diagnostics","Molecular Genetics"],"dc:title":["SENSITIVE AND SPECIFIC DETECTION OF SARS-COV-2 IN SALIVA USING REVERSE TRANSCRIPTASE LOOP-MEDIATED ISOTHERMAL AMPLIFICATION"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Clinical Sciences"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:24:17Z"}