Thobias Toniolo de Souza

Thobias Toniolo de Souza

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Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

4Years (2023-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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13 March 2023 in Biosensors
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
PZPATRICIA DAIANE ZANK
PATRICIA DAIANE ZANK
MCMilena Mattes Cerveira
Milena Mattes Cerveira
VBVictor Barboza
Victor Barboza
VKVitor Pereira Klein
Vitor Pereira Klein
TSThobias Toniolo de Souza
Thobias Toniolo de Souza
RVRodrigo de Almeida Vaucher
Rodrigo de Almeida Vaucher
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented health and economic crisis, highlighting the importance of developing new molecular tools to monitor and detect SARS-CoV-2. Hence, this study proposed to employ the carrageenan extracted from Gigartina skottsbergii algae as a probe for SARS-CoV-2 virus binding capacity and potential use in molecular methods. G. skottsbergii specimens were collected in the Chilean subantarctic ecoregion, and the carrageenan was extracted —using a modified version of Webber’s method—, characterized, and quantified. After 24 h of incubation with an inactivated viral suspension, the carrageenan’s capacity to bind SARS-CoV-2 was tested. The probe-bound viral RNA was quantified using the reverse transcription and reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) methods. Our findings showed that carrageenan extraction from seaweed has a similar spectrum to commercial carrageenan, achieving an excellent proportion of binding to SARS-CoV-2, with a yield of 8.3%. Viral RNA was also detected in the RT-LAMP assay. This study shows, for the first time, the binding capacity of carrageenan extracted from G. skottsbergii, which proved to be a low-cost and highly efficient method of binding to SARS-CoV-2 viral particles.