Story at a glance
- The number of cases in the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has wound down in many locations, but globally there are still many areas where cases are high.
- A group of researchers developed a way to use graphene sheets to detect the coronavirus.
- The experiments suggest that the virus can be detected through the atomic vibrations in the sheets with an antibody embedded.
Graphene is a material made up of carbon atoms, usually a single layer of atoms in sheet or other formation. Researchers are interested in studying its characteristics and exploring its uses such as using it as a conductor in electrical systems. One group of researchers are investigating if it can be used to detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus in laboratory experiments.
In the experiments, the team put together sheets of graphene with an antibody that targets the spike protein on the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
“Graphene is just one atom thick, so a molecule on its surface is relatively enormous and can produce a specific change in its electronic energy,” said Vikas Berry, professor and head of chemical engineering at the UIC College of Engineering and senior author of the paper, in a press release. They then measure the atomic level vibrations when the sheets are exposed to COVID positive and COVID negative samples.
“In this experiment, we modified graphene with an antibody and, in essence, calibrated it to react only with the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein,” said Berry. “Using this method, graphene could similarly be used to detect COVID-19 variants.”
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The experiments were a success and were published in ACS Nano. The researchers were able to detect a difference in the atomic vibrations between COVID-19-positive and negative samples. The vibrations changed within five minutes when they were exposed to a COVID-19-positive sample.
Using graphene to sense for things isn’t a new approach, but the coronavirus pandemic has brought it new urgency.
“We have been developing graphene sensors for many years. In the past, we have built detectors for cancer cells and ALS. It is hard to imagine a more pressing application than to help stem the spread of the current pandemic,” said Berry in the press release.
The researchers believe that the potential to use graphene as an atomic-level sensor, from detecting SARS-CoV-2 to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) to cancer, will continue to expand.
“This project has been an amazingly novel response to the need and demand for detection of viruses, quickly and accurately,” sid study co-author Garrett Lindemann, a researcher with Carbon Advanced Materials and Products, or CAMP, in the press release. “The development of this technology as a clinical testing device has many advantages over the currently deployed and used tests.”
This could potentially be used for surveillance during the pandemic.
“There is a clear need in society for better ways to quickly and accurately detect COVID and its variants, and this research has the potential to make a real difference,” says Berry. “The modified sensor is highly sensitive and selective for COVID, and it is fast and inexpensive.”
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