METHODS OF PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OF COVID-19 PROPOSED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER, UNITED KINGDOM

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METHODS OF PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OF COVID-19 PROPOSED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER, UNITED KINGDOM
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The UK is particularly concerned with the prevention and treatment of Corona virus, so research laboratories have begun to develop and propose revolutionary methods to the world that could drastically reduce the number of COVID-19 cases.

Professor of Microbiology Mike Barer and a team of researchers at the University of Leicester are working to develop a method for diagnosing people infected with Corona virus just before they show symptoms. If successful, this approach would simplify testing and help reduce COVID-19 cases. The invention consists of simple masks to which will be attached 3D strips meant to catch expired microbes. For the test to be effective, the mask must be worn for 30 minutes.

The researchers hope that this method will allow testing more people in as short a time as possible, avoiding long quarantine periods. Such a mask has been used successfully in the diagnosis of patients with tuberculosis. Moreover, the mask is cost-effective, currently its value is estimated at £ 2 (about 15 lei), but manufactured in industrial quantities, the price would fall considerably.

As for the treatment for COVID-19, the University of Leicester is working on a protein called “decoy protein” to attach to the virus and then capture it to prevent it from spreading. The research is led by Professor Nick Brindle and Dr. Julian Sale. They state that this virus infects the tissues of the airways by attaching to the ACE2 receptor that is found on the surface of cells. The decoy protein will be created to mimic these receptors but made so that the virus is attracted to it more than the original receptor. In this way, the virus will be captured and its spread will be prevented. Decoy protein is defined as something that attracts attention, it resembles the original but with the intention of misleading.

According to Professor Nick Brindle, this is an innovative approach that could prevent new cases from occurring around the world. The research team uses a technique called Cryo-Electron Microscopy (Cryo-EM), an innovation that, in 2017, won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. This system allows scientists to obtain images of the virus by taking a biological sample that is frozen and then viewed under a microscope using electron beams. They have a much shorter wavelength than the biological sample that is being tested. The first set of results will be available in three months.