A device for real-time detection of SARS-CoV-2 virus variants indoors has been created by researchers at Washington University in St. Louis. The device can detect the virus in about five minutes.
It is an inexpensive device and is the most sensitive detector available, according to the researchers. It could be used in hospitals and other healthcare settings, schools and public spaces to help detect this virus, as well as other aerosolized respiratory viruses such as influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
“If you're in a room with 100 people, you don't want to find out five days later if you might be sick or not. The idea with this device is that you can essentially know in real time, or every five minutes, if there is a live virus," points out Professor of Neurology at the University School of Medicine and one of the researchers, John Cirrito. He adds, “in a hospital setting the device could be used to measure staph or strep that cause all kinds of complications in patients. This could really have a significant impact on people's health."
Mr. Cirito, along with researcher Carla Yuente, associate professor of psychiatry at the School of Medicine, had previously developed a biosensor that detects beta amyloid as a biomarker for Alzheimer's disease and wondered if it could be turned into a detector for SARS-CoV-2 . They turned to researchers who had experience building real-time instruments to measure air toxicity.
To convert the biosensor, the researchers swapped the antibody that recognizes beta amyloid with a nanoantibody that recognizes the spike protein from the SARS-CoV-2 virus. They then integrated the biosensor into an air sampler that works on liquid cyclone technology. Now the team is working towards commercializing the air quality monitor.
The results of the research are published in the journal "Nature Communications".
Source: RES-EAP