Background: Influenza viruses are major pathogens responsible for respiratory infections and pose significant risks to densely populated urban areas. RT-qPCR has made substantial contributions in controlling virus transmission during previous COVID-19 epidemics, but it faces challenges in terms of detection time for large sample sizes and susceptibility to nucleic acid contamination.
Methods: Our study designed loop-mediated isothermal amplification primers for three common influenza viruses: A/H3N2, A/H1N1, and B/Victoria, and utilized a 4-channel microfluidic chip to achieve simultaneous detection. The chip initiates amplification by centrifugation and allows testing of up to eight samples at a time.
Results: By creating a closed amplification system in the microfluidic chip, aerosol-induced nucleic acid contamination can be prevented through physically isolating the reaction from the operating environment. The chip can specifically detect A/H1N1, A/H3N2, and B/Victoria and has no signal for other common respiratory viruses. The testing process can be completed within 1 h and can be sensitive to viral RNA at concentrations as low as 10?3 ng/μL for A/H1N1 and A/H3N2 and 10?1 ng/μL for B/Victori. A total of 296 virus swab samples were further analyzed using the microfluidic chip method and compared with the classical qPCR method, which resulted in high consistency.
Conclusions: Our chip enables faster detection of influenza virus and avoids nucleic acid contamination, which is beneficial for POCT establishment and has lower requirements for the operating environment.