Abstract

We used a commercially available colorimetric enzyme mix to perform Reverse Transcribed Loop- Mediated Isothermal Amplification (RT-LAMP) for detecting SARS-CoV-2 on saliva samples without a previous RNA purification step. We describe our optimization of the LAMP assay that enabled simple, fast and sensitive detection in any saliva sample. Adding Chelex-100 and SDS to saliva samples, we achieved 97% efficiency in the detection of SARS-Cov-2 with spike-in saliva samples and 100% in a small sample of saliva from infected patients. This method is meant to be the basis for high throughput screening, as well as a feasible and cheap method for any laboratory.

Keywords: Covid-19; SARS-CoV-2; RT-LAMP; Saliva; Direct RNA detection