Abstract
It is challenging to differentiate symptoms caused from severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and other respiratory pathogens such as influenza viruses. This study presented a multiplex reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay automated on an integrated, electromagnetic microfluidic system, which was capable of detecting and distinguishing SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A/B viruses simultaneously. Magnetic beads coated with aptamers of high affinities/specificity towards SARS-Cov-2 and Influenza A/B viruses were used to capture viral surface proteins, followed by viral lysis, RT-PCR and optical detection. This new platform can automate diagnostics in approximately 2 hours while consuming only 40 μL of samples.