In order to prevent the further spread of the COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2, there is a need to develop rapid and reliable diagnostic tests. Given that there is currently no effective antiviral drug for COVID-19, the most important current strategy is to identify patients as soon as possible. Therefore, scientists and researchers are conducting experiments for rapid detection of asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19, to control and prevention of this epidemic.
Although some aspects of the structural and molecular characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 are unknown, various strategies for the correct diagnosis of COVID-19 have been proposed by research laboratories and medical companies, some of which are presented in the present study. According to studies, rapid antigen and antibody tests, immunoenzymatic serological tests, and RT‑PCR-based molecular tests are the most widely used and valid diagnostic methods worldwide. In addition to these common methods, other methods include; techniques based on nucleic acid isothermal amplification, CRISPR/Cas based methods, new generation sequencing (NGS) techniques and biosensors are used in research fields to identify SARS-CoV-2.
In the present study, the recent technologies and techniques of various research institutes, as well as devices and commercial kits produced by companies for the diagnosis of COVID-19 are presented, so that familiarity with these efficient diagnostic methods is an important step in advancing scientific goals.