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Battery-free thin-film virus sensor


Battery-free thin-film virus sensor

Organization Name

Tatsuro Goda,Professor, Toyo University

Technical field

In our group, we focused on the molecular mechanism by which the ligands on the virus surface recognize the differences in receptors present on the cell membrane surfaces of humans and other animals. Incorporating this "biomimetic approach," we developed a new conductive polymer (PEDOT derivative) that detects with high sensitivity and selectivity. This technology allows for the easy creation of devices through methods like inkjet printing, and since it detects changes in electrical properties in a label-free manner, it can provide on-the-spot virus detection with a compact and portable electric virus detection method at a low cost. Furthermore, by adding components of the biological membrane lipids to reduce non-specific adsorption, the sensitivity for the human influenza virus improved by 100 times compared to traditional immunological methods. Additionally, this method enabled us to distinguish between different types of viruses. As the technology can adapt to detect different viruses by changing the type of receptor, we are currently aiming not only to enhance the universality of targeted virus detection but also to detect viruses floating in the air in aerosol form through thin film devices. Beyond just point-of-care on-site detection, we are working towards the realization of wearable and implantable biosensing technology known as "smart stickers."

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Details

Keypoint

  • Our material enables specific detection of target biomolecules, proteins, and virus.
  • Artificial receptors provide high robustness, durability, and storage stability of the detector.
  • High sensitivity is achieved by suppressing nonspecific adsorption.

Benefit

In recent years, with the outbreak of communicative diseases such as the new influenza and the COVID-19, we are regularly threatened by viral infections. For the prevention of pandemics, it is effective to quickly and accurately identify viruses and respond to them. However, conventional methods for detecting viruses, such as immunological and genetic analysis techniques, have issues related to sensitivity, time, and cost. Moreover, there’s the infrastructural issue that one cannot get diagnosed without visiting a hospital, which is insufficient to proactively prevent the spread of virus infections. Given this backdrop, our technology aims to develop an electric virus detection method that is compact and portable, offering high sensitivity and accuracy. It allows for on-the-spot (point-of-care) diagnostics, as well as wearable and implantable diagnostics.

Market Application

The conductive polymer (PEDOT) has high electrical conductivity, is chemically stable, and doesn’t contain any rare or harmful elements. Since it can be applied or modified as an ink, functionalized conductive polymers with virus recognition elements can be printed on paper or non-woven fabric. By using it as the detection part of an electrical sensor, it is possible to detect viruses in saliva or droplets using a simple point-of-care device. There’s also potential to detect viruses floating in the air in an aerosol form.

Publications

Selected Papers
1. W. Hai et al., ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 2017, 9, 14162-14170.
https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.7b025232. T. Goda et al., Langmuir, 2019, 35, 1126-1133.
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.8b01492

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