Using CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Editing Methods to Create Novel Diagnostic Exams

Abstract

In order to monitor the spread of diseases globally, diagnostic testing is essential. It consists of three main stages: detection, analysis, and outcomes. The diagnosis of many infectious diseases is based on symptoms, which can frequently overlap between infections and result in incorrect diagnoses. For many illnesses, conventional antibody testing is quite slow and not particularly economical. Using blood or urine samples from patients, CRISPR-based diagnostics could detect the disease-specific DNA sequences in less than a day. The type of disease might then be quickly identified using this data, and the appropriate course of treatment could be started. There is currently a CRISPR-based influenza diagnostic available. Research has shown that Cas9 is useful in differentiating between the virus's strains. The next stage would be to modify this test to make it easier to use than the PCR techniques that are now in use. As a result of the flu's symptoms' resemblance to those of other respiratory illnesses, misdiagnosis rates of influenza would decline.

The traditional ways of diagnosing different diseases are covered in this literature review, along with an analysis of how CRISPR technology can improve the detection of tests that are now on the market. This review focuses on non-communicable diseases (diabetes and cancer) and communicable diseases (dengue, influenza, and HIV) using data and research that is already available.

Novel approaches in the field of molecular diagnostics have been introduced as a result of recent developments in the genomic sciences. The application of CRISPR-Cas9 (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats)-based gene editing to the development of quick, inexpensive, and extremely sensitive diagnostic tests for the identification of communicable and non-communicable diseases is one of the most promising future directions. The way diagnostic tests are performed could be completely changed by CRISPR technology, creating a whole new set of opportunities that the world's health desperately needs.