DIPCOVAN

Subject: Science & tech

Context: Recently, the Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO) has launched the DIPCOVAN.

Concept:

It is an indigenously developed antibody detection-based kit.
It is DIPAS-VDx COVID-19 IgG Antibody Microwell ELISA for sero-surveillance.
It is developed by Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences (DIPAS), a laboratory of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
It has been developed in association with Vanguard Diagnostics Pvt Ltd, a development and manufacturing diagnostics company based at New Delhi.
The kit has a shelf life of 18 months.

Significance of DIPCOVAN

It 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.
It 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 turn-around-time as it requires just 75 minutes to conduct the test without any cross reactivity with other diseases.
The kit will be very useful for understanding COVID‐19 epidemiology and assessing an individual’s previous SARS‐CoV‐2 exposure.