The first nano-technologic product with biomedical applications 100% Cuban was developed by researchers of the Center of Advanced Studies of Cuba(CEA), reported Gramma.

The device, developed in collaboration with the Tropical Disease Center Pedro Kouri(IPK) and some other entities, the innovator outcome allows, through the use of nano-particles, the extraction and concentration of the ARN of the SARS-COV 2 virus, to later confirm, through a PCR test, whether the patient is contagious or not with Covid-19.

This achievement was granted one of the national prizes of Technological Innovation given by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment(CITMA).

The diagnostician, it was specified, has proven a high reliability in the accurate detection of Covid -19 cases, based on its high sensitivity and capacity for concentrating the samples, which avoid false positives.

PhD IN Sciences, Angelina Díaz García, general director of CEA, which belongs to the Agency of Nuclear Energy and Advanced Technologies(Aenta) of CITMA, pointed out that the product had been validated at the IPK, and the received the clearance for use, granted by the Center for the State Control of Medicine, Equipment and Medical Device(CEDMED).

From this results on, the sanitary license for the manufacture of this diagnostician for three years, was given to the CEA on April 8, 2021 while in September 2021 it was approved the registration of the product for five years in the CEDMED register.

More than 20 000 daily detections in the existent Molecular Labs in all the provinces and the special municipality Isla de la Juventud were possible thanks to the introduction and generalization of the product.

In that sense, Diaz García stressed:

To the date there are more than 6 576 500 test done with the diagnostician for the extraction of the RNA, which far beyond its notorious contribution to the fight against Covid -19, meant 22 million dollars saved for the concept of imports substitution.

Likewise, scientist from CEA have contributed to the fight against Covid-19 with some remarkable outcomes.

Among them it highlights SARS-COV-2, High Resolution Microscopy which is a contribution since the nano-bio-medicine to the control of the pandemic in Cuba, also developed in collaboration with IPK and the Math, Cybernetics and Physics Institute. 

Regardless the importance of this product, general director of CEA, commented that the impact consisted on the observation, for the first time, in clinical samples, the evidences of the effect that Coronavirus has over the nasopharyngeal epithelium which back up or confirm the most common signs shown in the infected people such as the complete loss of the sense of smell and taste.

The greatest amount of virions (structural group of a virus made up by the nucleic acid molecule and the protein capsule covering it) detected in the nasal cells and its absence or presence in minor amount found in the pharyngeal cells, allowed the sample protocols for Covid-19 diagnose to be adjusted.

This outcome strengthened the decision making of the sanitary authorities in the application of procedures and more accurate protocols for the isolation of patients and contacts and their clinical handling.

Díaz García deepened that the CEA is currently working on six research projects of the National Program of Nano-science and Nano-technologies.

Nano-technologies in the development of new drug administration systems, lead to the search for new administration systems of efficient and safe drugs, and Bio-distribution and toxicity of nano-particles for the prevention, diagnose and treatment of heart diseases, under the pretention of designing a more efficient strategy for the treatment of these diseases, in order to improve the quality of life of the patients, are some of the examples of these studies.

The capacities created at the CEA allowed, together with the Center for the Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology(CIGB)the identification through confocal microscopy, of cells populations and inflammatory markers associated to SARS-COV-2 in different tissues collected from patients deceased due to Covid-19, besides characterizing and statistically quantifying by electronic microscopy, different samples of the Abdala vaccine, which included RBD and HBCORBD+HBCO proteins samples.

The CEA has the singularity of being the youngest scientific center created in the country, inaugurated on July 18, 2019 in its first stage by the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez.

Its mission is to disseminate nanoscience and nanotechnology in every possible fields of knowledge, through the National Program of Nanoscience and nanotechnology that currently embraces 50 research projects linked to bio-nano-medicine, agriculture, energy, hydraulic resources, construction, environment and other prioritized sectors of production and services.