A recombinase polymerase amplification-coupled Cas12a for detection of Salmonella Typhi — a preliminary report

INTRODUCTION: . Typhoid fever, a disease resulting from an infection with Salmonella Typhi (S. Typhi) remains widespread in economically disadvantaged regions, where it continues to be a critical public health concern. As the symptoms and signs are non-specific, they are difficult to diagnose directly based on the clinical picture. Therefore, laboratory examinations are essential for diagnosis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: . This research introduces a fast and equipment-independent approach for detecting S. Typhi by employing CRISPR/Cas12a-based technology. The optimized CRISPR/Cas12a system achieved a detection limit of 103 copies/μL of S. Typhi DNA per reaction, with the entire assay completed within 60 min. RESULTS: . Four clinical isolates cultured from patients with typhoid fever were collected and evaluated using our CRISPR/Cas12a-based detection system. The assay results demonstrated that all four samples were accurately identified as positive. CONCLUSIONS: . We showed that the developed CRISPR/Cas12a-based detection method provides a promising alternative for the on-site and simple detection of S. Typhi.