Question: Which institute has developed the COVID-19 antibody detection kit DIPCOVAN?
(a) IIT Kanpur
(b) DRDO
(c) IIT Delhi
(d) IIT Guwahati
Answer: (b)
Related facts:
- Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences (DIPAS), a laboratory of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), has developed an antibody detection-based kit ‘DIPCOVAN’.
- The DIPCOVAN kit can detect both spike as well as nucleocapsid (S&N) proteins of SARS-CoV-2 virus with a high sensitivity of 97 per cent and specificity of 99 per cent.
- The kit has been developed in association with Vanguard Diagnostics Pvt Ltd, a development and manufacturing diagnostics company based at New Delhi.
About the DIPCOVAN:
- DIPCOVAN is intended for the qualitative detection of IgG antibodies in human serum or plasma, targeting SARS-CoV-2 related antigens.
- It offers a significantly faster turnaround time of just 75 minutes to conduct the test without any cross-reactivity with other diseases. The kit has a shelf life of 18 months.
Links:
https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1720604