Lateral flow assay design.

<p>The lateral flow assay is designed to detect a 142 bp amplified RNA sequence<b>.</b> The lateral flow strip consists of a conjugate pad containing gold nanoparticle probes (GNPs), a nitrocellulose membrane containing capture oligonucleotides, and an absorbent pad. Target RNA is dispensed onto the conjugate pad and binds to the GNPs. The target RNA – GNP complex flows down the strip and binds to the target capture sequence, while unbound GNPs bind to the positive control sequence. After wash buffer carries unbound GNPs down the strip, an enhancement solution is added to increase the optical absorbance of the captured GNPs. The signal of the GNPs captured in the detection zone should be proportional to the number of RNA copies dispensed onto the strip, providing quantitative detection.