A high-throughput neutralizing antibody assay for COVID-19 diagnosis and vaccine evaluation

Muruato, Antonio E.; Fontes-Garfias, Camila R.; Ren, Ping; Garcia-Blanco, Mariano A.; Menachery, Vineet D.; Xie, Xuping; Shi, Pei-Yong

Virus neutralization remains the gold standard for determining antibody efficacy. Therefore, a high-throughput assay to measure SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies is urgently needed for COVID-19 serodiagnosis, convalescent plasma therapy, and vaccine development. Here, we report on a fluorescence-based SARS-CoV-2 neutralization assay that detects SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies in COVID-19 patient specimens and yields comparable results to plaque reduction neutralizing assay, the gold standard of serological testing. The fluorescence-based neutralization assay is specific to measure COVID-19 neutralizing antibodies without cross reacting with patient specimens with other viral, bacterial, or parasitic infections. Collectively, our approach offers a rapid platform that can be scaled to screen people for antibody protection from COVID-19, a key parameter necessary to safely reopen local communities.