# Immuno-μSARS2 Chip: A Peptide-Based Microarray to Assess COVID-19 Prognosis Based on Immunological Fingerprints

## TL;DR

A new microarray chip called Immuno-μSARS2 can predict the severity of COVID-19 by analyzing immune responses to specific viral proteins.

## Contribution

The paper introduces a novel peptide-based microarray chip for assessing COVID-19 prognosis through immunological fingerprints.

## Key findings

- The Immuno-μSARS2 chip achieved 98% specificity and 91% sensitivity in identifying RT-PCR+ patients.
- The chip predicted ICU admissions with 80% accuracy and exitus conditions with 82% accuracy.
- The diagnostic platform processes 96 samples in 90 minutes using only 10 μL of sera per sample.

## Abstract

A multiplexed microarray chip (Immuno-μSARS2)
aiming at providing information on the prognosis of the COVID-19 has
been developed. The diagnostic technology records information related
to the profile of the immunological response of patients infected
by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The diagnostic technology delivers information
on the avidity of the sera against 28 different peptide epitopes and
7 proteins printed on a 25 mm2 area of a glass slide. The
peptide epitopes (12–15 mer) derived from structural proteins
(Spike and Nucleocapsid) have been rationally designed, synthesized,
and used to develop Immuno-μSARS2 as a multiplexed
and high-throughput fluorescent microarray platform. The analysis
of 755 human serum samples (321 from PCR+ patients; 288 from PCR–
patients; 115 from prepandemic individuals and classified as hospitalized,
admitted to intensive-care unit (ICU), and exitus) from three independent cohorts has shown that the chips perform
with a 98% specificity and 91% sensitivity identifying RT-PCR+ patients.
Computational analysis utilized to correlate the immunological signatures
of the samples analyzed indicate significant prediction rates against exitus conditions with 82% accuracy, ICU admissions with
80% accuracy, and 73% accuracy over hospitalization requirement compared
to asymptomatic patients’ fingerprints. The miniaturized microarray
chip allows simultaneous determination of 96 samples (24 samples/slide)
in 90 min and requires only 10 μL of sera. The diagnostic approach
presented for the first time here could have a great value in assisting
clinicians in decision-making based on the information provided by
the Immuno-μSARS2 regarding progression of
the disease and could be easily implemented in diagnostics of other
infectious diseases.