Prevention of the spread of SARS COV-2 by Rapid Antigenic Tests on the passengers entering an Italian seaport.

Abstract: Out of 38,282 passengers entering Italy at a major seaport, submitted to SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigenic test, 272 (0.6%) resulted positive and 212 (93.4%) were confirmed positive by qRT-PCR, leaving a 0.6% of false positive. Those resident in the area under control of the same Local Health Authority of the seaport were immediately submitted to isolation and investigated for contact tracing, the others notified to their Local Health Authority which did the same in the following day. This procedure was made possible by a full-time dedication of the local healthcare workers who managed all the passengers disembarking around the clock along the months of the emergency.

Highly selective detection of Epinephrine at oxidized Single-Wall Carbon Nanohorns modified Screen Printed Electrodes (SPEs).

Oxidized Single-Wall Carbon Nanohorns (o-SWCNHs) were used, for the first time, to assemble chemically modified Screen Printed Electrodes (SPEs) selective towards the electrochemical detection of Epinephrine (Ep), in the presence of Serotonine-5-HT (S-5HT), Dopamine (DA), Nor-Epineprhine (Nor-Ep), Ascorbic Acid (AA), Acetaminophen (Ac) and Uric Acid (UA). The Ep neurotransmitter was detected by using Differential Pulse Voltammetry (DPV), in a wide linear range of concentration (2-2500 µM) with high sensitivity (55.77 A M(-1) cm(-2)), very good reproducibility (RSD% ranging from 2 to 10 for different SPEs), short response time for each measurement (only 2s) and low detection of limit (LOD=0.1 µM). o-SWCNHs resulted in higher analytical performances when compared with other nanomaterials used in literature for electrochemical sensors assembly.