Rumors circulated that soft drinks can interfere with the work of the mat tes antigen COVID-19, resulting in a false positive. Researchers in a report in the International Journal of Infectious Disease suggest that people should not consume certain foods and drinks before undergoing a rapid test.
University of Hull chemist Professor Mark Lorch said it appeared that some people deliberately used fizzy drinks to get false negative tests. On social media like TikTok, there are many videos of netizens trying to get a positive test result by using liquid from orange, lemon, or juice soft drink.
Prof Mark explained what might happen is that the acid in the liquid damaged the mechanism of the test kit. Some rapid test kits usually work by utilizing antibodies that are sensitive to viral particles.
It should be noted that in the test kit there is a paper -like strip containing three layers of antibodies. Antibody the first layer contains gold particles and this will stick to the virus.
The tool works when the sample liquid is placed in the strip. If there is virus in the sample, the antibodies in the first layer will stick and ‘snag’ on the next layer, appearing as a red line indicating a positive result.
Meanwhile, if there is no virus, antibodies containing gold particles will flow smoothly through other layers. No red lines.
“Well, the acid in orange juice, cola, or apple juice has a pH between 2-4. This condition is not suitable for antibodies that normally work in conditions in the blood with a pH of around 7.4,” Prof Mark was quoted as saying. from BBC, Tuesday (28/9/2021).
Acid makes antibodies that should not react in the absence of the virus so ‘sticky’. Impact antibody instead it will instantly bind to the gold particles that are carried away, causing a red line effect.
This is why health workers usually mix the sample with a special liquid as a buffer or protection before carrying out the test. The goal is to maintain the acidity of the sample so that the tool can work optimally.
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