A new COVID-19 test developed by Cal Poly faculty will soon be brought to market by Santa Maria-based company Hardy Diagnostics, according to a Tuesday news release by the university.
The test — a microfluidic paper-based analytical device created by Nathaniel Martinez, an associate professor of biological sciences, and Andres Martinez, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry — is saliva-based, meaning no sticks up the nose.
“When placed in one’s mouth, the device automatically absorbs the exact amount of saliva required for the test and excludes potential contaminants like mucus,” Nathaniel Martinez said in the release Tuesday.
“Thanks to the improved quality of samples and consistency of sample size, the tests can be run more efficiently.”
Hardy Diagnostics, under an agreement with Cal Poly, will further develop the testing device for commercialization and then bring it to market.
“We are pleased that the partnership with Hardy Diagnostics will take this innovative technology beyond Cal Poly to enable widespread testing and help end this pandemic,” Andres Martinez said in the release.
How Cal Poly Created Its Own COVID-19 Testing Program From Scratch
The testing method helped the university keep track of the spread of COVID-19 on its campus since its implementation in February.
When about 4,500 students moved on campus in the beginning of the 2020-21 academic year, Cal Poly employees saw an opportunity to develop an efficient, accurate, in-house COVID-19 testing system.
“I feel like you don’t always get the chance to be heroes,” Jean Davidson, an assistant biology professor at Cal Poly, told The Tribune in an August 2020 interview. “We have the equipment, we have the protocols — can we get a large-scale, COVID-19 testing program running in our labs?”
It was a tough question, Davidson said.
“We spent a lot of time reading and calling other universities and seeing what they’re doing,” Davidson later said during a tour of Cal Poly’s COVID-19 testing labs in March. “And then we looked inside, instead of just mimicking another university and buying all the things they bought.”
By about mid February, Davidson and a team of five other Cal Poly scientists and some of their students had developed a testing lab that could handle up to 1,000 tubes of saliva per day, with the capacity of 4,000 tubes per day.
The program successfully tested roughly 9,000 students who were estimated to need tests twice a week to be on campus.
Now, Cal Poly’s COVID-19 testing program is used for the 1,316 students who are not vaccinated against the virus and need to be on campus. Those students are required to be tested twice a week to gain access to campus facilities. Students who develop symptoms of COVID-19 can also be tested on campus, according to the university.
Part of what made Cal Poly’s COVID-19 testing program efficient was the new saliva analysis device developed by Nathaniel and Andres Martinez.
“This is a shining example of learn by doing addressing real-world problems,” Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong said in a university news release Tuesday. “Our faculty members’ expertise can have a significant impact on making the fight against COVID-19 — and other similar diseases — easier and more efficient.”
Cal Poly has filed for patent protection for the testing device, which can test for more than just COVID-19.
“The device was developed and refined for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, but our team quickly realized it could also function as a platform saliva collection device for testing a panel of other viruses in the future,” Jim Dunning, Cal Poly’s associate vice president of corporate engagement and innovation, said in the news release.
“We found a fantastic local partner in Hardy Diagnostics to scale this technology for the greatest public good,” he said.
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