Feluda test for Covid-19
- Feluda is the acronym for FNCAS9 Editor Linked Uniform Detection Assay.
- It is an accurate and low-cost paper-based test strip to detect Covid-19 in less than 30 minutes.
- It has been approved for commercial launch by the Drugs Controller General of India.
- Developed by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Tata Group.
- It uses indigenously developed CRISPR gene-editing technology to identify and target the genetic material of SARS-CoV2, the virus that causes Covid-19.
- Significance:According to CSIR, the test matches accuracy levels of RT-PCR tests.
- It has a quicker turnaround time and requires less expensive equipment.
- ‘Feluda’ is also the world’s first diagnostic test to deploy a specially adapted Cas9 protein to successfully detect the virus.
