This mask is able to detect the coronavirus in 90 minutes

Researchers from high school Wyss from Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have created a mask capable of detecting the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus analyze a person’s breath with the push of a button and in as little as 90 minutes.

The technology incorporates a portable biosensor in the mask, making it fundamentally capable of shrinking an entire diagnostic lab down to its small size.

The synthetic sensor “It works with any face mask and combines the high precision of PCR testing with the speed and low cost of antigen testing,” said one of its creators, Peter Nguyen, a scientist from the Wyss Institute.

According to its creators, the device is based on portable or portable freeze-dried cell-free technology, which was developed by Jim collins co-author of the research.

This technique involves extracting and dehydrating the molecular machinery that cells use to read DNA and produce RNA and proteins. Under these conditions, the biological material becomes stable for long periods and it suffices to add water to reactivate it.

Then, When the button of the biosensor is pressed, the dehydrated (iophilized) components are hydrated again and three biological reactions occur which emit a signal (through chlorimetric changes) that responds to the protein peak, which occurs in this case is the SARS-CoV RNA – two.

If the result is positive, a line appears in the reading part equivalent to the positive, as if it were a pregnancy test.

“The wFDCF mask is the first SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid assay to achieve high accuracy rates comparable to current standard RT-PCR assays while operating fully at room temperature, eliminating the need to heat or cool instruments and allow rapid detection samples from patients outside the laboratories ”, underlines the Wyss Institute.

Developing the biosensor took scientists at Wyss and MIT three years of hard work, who first started with the idea of ​​developing a diagnostic tool for the Zika virus.

Its first version was developed in 2015, but when the pandemic and quarantines came, it dawned on the team that this The technology could be taken to the point of creating a portable, flexible and discreet device to detect pathogens and toxins and alert the user.

The developers are looking for partners interested in the manufacture and mass production of these COVID-19 and other detection masks “biological and environmental risks ”.

According to the researchers, the device could also allow users to control your exposure to a wide range of substances thanks to the integration of a fiber optic cable network to detect fluorescent light generated by biological reactions.

Such monitoring could even be done via an application on the mobile phone. “It could be incorporated into lab coats for scientists working with hazardous or pathogenic materials, uniforms for doctors and nurses, or uniforms for servicemen and paramedics who might be exposed to pathogens or toxins. dangerous.”, explains co-author Nina Donghia.

In other words, this technological evolution has for its creators a “Unlimited potential”.

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