Diagnosis by isothermal amplification of nucleic acids. Opportunity for community pharmacies

This review focuses on describing new commercially available POC-type molecular diagnostic systems that can be easily implemented in community pharmacies and have the potential to expand the portfolio of pharmaceutical services and make a significant contribution to the improvement of public health.

Knowledge of new molecular diagnostic techniques other than PCR is relatively unexplored. However, the available options are diverse and have reached sufficient technological maturity for large-scale use. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has brought diagnostic tests to market that, in some cases, have been used exclusively in research for decades.

Isothermal nucleic acid amplification technology continues to evolve and it is likely that in the coming years we will witness an exponential increase in its use, as well as the development of new improvements that further simplify and reduce the cost of each assay.

Furthermore, we cannot ignore the fact that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the public has become accustomed to self-diagnosing through mass distribution channels such as community pharmacies. Which can open the sector to other diseases - such as sexually transmitted diseases or animal health -, food control, water and air contamination (fungi) or the presence of allergens.

Knowledge of them is an essential technological surveillance strategy for the pharmaceutical sector.