A Bioluminescent Biosensor for Quantifying the Interaction of SARS-CoV-2 and Its Receptor ACE2 in Cells and In Vitro
, Lidong Liu 2, Yawei Hao 1, Eva So 2, Sahar Sarmasti Emami 1, Derek Zhang 1, Yanping Gong 1, Prameet M. Sheth 1,3 and Yutian Wang 2Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
This is a very well designed study, highly relevant and presented in a comprehensible way. It reads very well and provides useful insight into design and function of sensors aimed at detecting the SARS-CoV-2 viruses. This approach can also be extended towards other pathogens, upon appropriate modifications.
The manuscript can be accepted in the present form.
Author Response
Thanks a lot for this reviewer's positive comments and agreeing to accept the manuscript.
Reviewer 2 Report
Authors developed a bioluminescent biosensor to analyze SARS-CoV-2 with drug candidate molecules. SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain (RBD) and angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) were fused with split luciferase so that inhibition of ACE2-RBD interaction results in lowered luciferase activity. They could evaluate small molecules, antibodies, and peptides. The developed method was simple and fast. This reviewer believe that this method is useful for various applications.
One minor comment:
The word 'sensitive' can be used when very low concentration of target molecule can be detected by the method. Thus, the word 'ultrasensitive' in the title seems inappropriate.
Author Response
Thanks this reviewer for positive comments and suggestion. To address the reviewer's suggestion for "ultrasensitive" word in the title, we have replaced the word "ultrasensitive" with "bioluminescent".
