Comparison of mechanical homogenization versus enzymatic digestion sample preparation methodologies for SARS-CoV-2 detection in saliva for surveillance of variants of concern on the University of Tennessee campus in early 2021

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has profoundly impacted communities across the globe, requiring accurate and accessible diagnostic technologies in support of public health mitigation efforts. As testing has evolved throughout the course of the pandemic, varying sample preparation methodologies have been employed. Herein we perform a comparison of three commercial sample preparation methods: two mechanical homogenization workflows and one enzymatic digestion approach for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 from biomarker genes in 20 human saliva pools. SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern were also identified on the University of Tennessee, Knoxville campus during the spring semester of 2021 utilizing the commercial PerkinElmer PKamp VariantDetect SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR Assay kit. Two hundred and ten (210) human saliva pools were selected and analyzed for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern providing insight into the utility of these various commercial workflows for integration into current public health SARS-CoV-2 surveillance measures.