Raphael Thys
Scientists have shown they can detect SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in the air using a nanotechnology-filled bubble that spills its chemical contents like a broken piñata when it hits it virus hits.
Such a detector could be positioned on a wall or ceiling, or in an air duct where there is constant air movement, to alert residents immediately if even a trace of the virus is present.
At the heart of nanotechnology is a micelle, a molecular structure made of oils, fats and sometimes water with an interior space that can be filled with air or another substance. Micelles are commonly used to deliver anticancer drugs in the body and are a staple in soaps and detergents. Almost everyone has come across a micelle in the form of soap bubbles.
A team of scientists at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has developed a new type of micelle stamped on the surface with copies of an imprinted particle for SARS-CoV-2.
The team filled micelles with a salt capable of generating an electronic signal but which is inactive when packed into a micelle. When a virus particle interacts with one of the imprinted receptors on the surface, the micelle ruptures, spilling the salt and immediately emitting an electronic signal.
The system acts like a signal enhancer, translating the presence of a virus particle into 10 billion molecules that combine to produce a detectable signal. The developers say the detector has advantages over current technologies; it generates a signal faster, requires a much smaller amount of virus particles, or generates fewer errors.
The team published their findings online on October 25 MRS communication.
There is a need for this type of low cost detection system. Perhaps it could be implemented in schools, or in hospitals or emergency rooms before patients have been fully screened — anywhere you need to know immediately the virus is present.
Lance Hubbard, PNNL scientist, nanotechnology specialist and author of the article
PNNL’s micellar technology is the product of a laborious chain of 279 separate chemical steps developed by first author Samuel Morrison along with Hubbard and other PNNL scientists.
COVID detection: one in billions
The team estimates the technology can pluck one viral particle from billions of other particles. The detector is so sensitive that the team had trouble identifying the lower limit. The team used both inactivated SARS-CoV-2 virus particles and the virus’ spike protein in their tests.
While the technology detects the virus within a millisecond, it takes the device an extra minute to run quality control software to confirm the signal and prevent false alarms.
Micelles can be delicate, like a bubble from a child’s magic wand. But under certain circumstances, scientists can create more resilient micelles that spill their contents at just the right time and place — for example, those micelles that rupture when a virus particle is detected.
The PNNL micelle is two-layered, with one polymer-coated micelle inside the other, and the entire structure is immersed in water. Each micelle is about 5 microns wide. On the outer surface are several imprinted particles of silicon dioxide with a width of about 500 nanometers. Each imprint is an opportunity for a COVID-causing virus particle to bind, causing the bilayer micelle to rupture.
“Combining micelles with a technology to emboss or stamp them is something a lot of people haven’t done before,” Hubbard said. “Imprinting a molecule with our molecule of interest introduces a vulnerability into the micelle – which is what we want in this case.”
Morrison, a former Marine, began this work hoping to develop a new method to help soldiers quickly spot explosives in combat. He connected with Hubbard, an expert in nanosynthesis. When the pandemic hit, they shifted the focus of the project to SARS-CoV-2. The technology can also be used to detect fentanyl and environmental toxins.
Battelle, which manages and operates PNNL for DOE, has applied for a patent on the technology. The scientists say the technology needs to be further developed, perhaps with a licensing partner, before it can be widely deployed.
The findings are the latest in a series of research developments into COVID-19 by PNNL scientists. Article authors are Morrison, Hubbard and Caleb Allen, Amy Sims, Kristin Engbrecht, Matthew O’Hara and Jared Johnson. The work was funded by PNNL.
Source:
DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Magazine reference:
Hubbard, L. R. et al. (2022) Detection of SARS-COV-2 by functionally imprinted micelles. MRS communication. doi.org/10.1557/s43579-022-00242-0.
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