Handheld
Device to
Capture and
Identify Viruses in Minutes
Researchers at Penn State have developed a
Handheld Device called VIRRION that can
Capture and
Identify viral particles in samples within minutes. The
Device contains a “forest†of carbon nanotubes that
Capture and sort viral particles depending on their size, and then users can
Identify the
Viruses using Raman spectroscopy. The technique could help to increase the speed and convenience of identifying viral infections, and could be very useful when viral outbreaks strike.
During events such as recent outbreaks of Ebola and Zika, rapidly detecting a virus in patient and environmental samples could help health organizations to employ countermeasures in good time. However, current techniques to detect certain
Viruses can be cumbersome and lengthy.
To address this, researchers have been developing technology to aid in rapid viral detection, with the goal that a doctor in a community clinic could quickly
Identify viral infections. The VIRRION
Device employs a gradient of carbon nanotubes to trap
Viruses within it, before Raman spectroscopy reveals the identity of the virus.
“We havedeveloped a fast and inexpensive
Handheld Device that can
Capture Viruses basedon size,†said Mauricio Terrones, a researcher involved in the study. “Ourdevice uses arrays of nanotubes engineered to be comparable in size to a widerange of viruses. We then use Raman spectroscopy to
Identify the
Viruses basedon their individual vibration.â€
The researchers claim that the VIRRION can detect
Viruses within minutes, requires only a few milliliters of sample, and is inexpensive and readily portable, potentially making it suitable for remote clinics and even at the point of care.
“Mostcurrent techniques require large and expensive pieces of equipment,†saidTerrones. “The VIRRION is a few centimeters across. We add gold nanoparticlesto enhance the Raman signal so that we are able to detect the virus molecule invery low concentrations. We then use machine learning techniques to create alibrary of virus types.â€
Study in
PNAS:
Arapid and label-free platform for virus capture and identification fromclinical samples
Via:
PennState
