Scientists have shown that they can detect SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in the air using bubbles (The airborne virus that causes COVID was detected with a hi-tech bubble) filled with nanotechnology that spills its chemicals like a broken piñata when it encounters the virus.
Such a detector can be placed on the wall or ceiling, or in the airport, where air pollution is always happening, to let people know immediately when the virus is present.
The heart of nanotechnology is the micelle, a molecular structure composed of oil, fat and sometimes water with an internal cavity that can be filled with air or other substances. Micelles are often used to deliver anti-cancer drugs into the body and are an important ingredient in soaps and detergents. Almost everyone has seen micelles in the form of soap.
A team of scientists at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory developed a new type of micelle, which uses a printed sheet for SARS-CoV-2. The group filled the micelles with salt that could produce an electronic signal but that sounded when the micelles were filled. When a bacterium interacts with one of the receptors printed on the surface, the micelle opens, spills the salt and immediately sends an electronic signal.
The system works like a signal magnifying glass, converting the presence of bacteria into tens of billions of particles that work together to create a detectable signal. Developers claim that the detector has advantages over existing technologies; it produces signals faster, requires lower levels of virus, or produces fewer errors.
The team published its findings online Oct. 25 in MRS Communications. “There is a need for this kind of low-cost detection method,” said Lance Hubbard, PNNL scientist, nanotechnology expert and author of the paper. “Perhaps it can be applied in schools, or in hospitals or emergency rooms before patients are properly screened – wherever you need to know immediately that the virus is present.”
PNNL’s micellar technology is a product of 279 different chemical processes developed by first author Samuel Morrison in collaboration with Hubbard and other PNNL scientists.
A COVID diagnosis: one in a billion
The team estimates that the technology can extract a single virus from billions of other particles. The detector was so sensitive that it was difficult for the team to find out the border. The team used both inactivated SARS-CoV-2 virus particles and the virus’ spike protein in their tests.
While the technology detects the virus in a millisecond, the device takes an extra minute to run quality control software to confirm the signal and avoid false alarms. Micelles can be soft, like soap bubbles from a child’s wand. But, in some cases, scientists can make micelles hard to pour their contents at the right time and the right place, for example, the micelles burst when a virus is detected.
PNNL micelles are two-component, with one micelle having a polymer coating inside the other, and the whole thing is immersed in water. Each micelle is about 5 microns in diameter. On the surface, there are many printed materials, made of silica, about 500 nanometers in diameter. Each mark is an opportunity for the virus particles that cause COVID to bind, causing the bilayer micelle to pop.
“Combining micelles with technology to print or stamp is not something many people have done before,” Hubbard said. “Adding a single molecule to our cell of interest puts a weak point into the micelle, which is what we wanted in this case.”
Morrison, a former Marine, began a project aimed at developing new ways to help the military detect explosives more quickly in combat. He met Hubbard, an expert in nanosynthesis. They transferred the work to SARS-CoV-2 when the disease was affected. Other potential uses for the technology include detecting fentanyl in environmental toxins. Pictured: Lance Hubbard tests PNNL’s coronavirus detection system as Samuel Morrison (l) and Caleb Allen (c) look on.
