Czech scientists develop new coronavirus test that enables quick identification of antibody levels

Scientists from the Czech Republic have developed a test which is able to quickly determine the level of COVID-19 antibodies and differentiate them from those that do not offer direct protection, representatives of the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry (IOCB) at the Czech Academy of Sciences have announced. The institute claims that the test is simpler and cheaper than current methods of antibody testing.

The test was developed by the laboratory of Cyril Bařinka from the Institute of Biotechnology of the Academy of Sciences and the teams of Jan Weber and Pavel Šácha from IOCB in external collaboration with expert Jan Plicka.

According to Cyril Bařinka, current tests cost between 800 to 1,000 crowns and take roughly a week before providing results. The new testing method, he says, takes about four hours and should cost significantly less.