Real-time diagnosis of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in fresh sputum by electrochemical tracing; correlation between COVID-19 and viral-induced ROS in lung/respiratory epithelium during this pandemic

COVID-19 is the shocking viral pandemics of this year which affected the health, economy, communications, and all aspects of social activities all over the world. Early diagnosis of this viral disease is very important since it can prevent lots of mortalities and care consumption. The functional similarities between COVID-19 and COVID-2 in inducing acute respiratory syndrome lightened our mind to find a diagnostic mechanism based on early traces of mitochondrial ROS overproduction as lung cells' dysfunctions induced by the virus. We designed a simple electrochemical sensor to selectively detect the intensity of ROS in the sputum sample (with a volume of less than 500 μl). Comparing the results of the sensor with clinical diagnostics of more than 140 normal and involved cases resulted in a response calibration with accuracy and sensitivity both 97%. Testing the sensor in more than 4 hospitals shed promising lights in ROS based real-time tracing of COVID-19 from the sputum sample.