COVID-19 has turned the world upside down. While vaccination campaigns have gained momentum in several countries, a third wave looms in some countries, including India. A team of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University have developed wearable biosensor technology that can help face masks detect COVID-19 in your breath.
The study “Wearable Materials with Embedded Synthetic Biology Sensors for Detecting Biomolecules” was published in the journal Nature Biotechnology. These wearable biosensors were installed in standard KN95 face masks to determine if the virus was present in a person’s breath. And it’s quick too. Researchers said you can activate sensors with a button and the readout strip will reflect the results within 90 minutes. Not only that, the level of accuracy is exactly the same as the standard PCR COVID tests, they added.
Peter Nguyen, a researcher at the Wyss Institute and co-author of the study, said the team essentially put an entire diagnostic lab into a small, synthetic biology-based sensor that works with any face mask, adding that it did the high accuracy of PCR tests with the speed and low cost of antigen testing. “In addition to face masks, our programmable biosensors can be integrated into other clothing items to detect dangerous substances such as viruses, bacteria, toxins and chemicals while on the move,” Nguyen said in a statement.
Nina Donghia, a research fellow at Wyss Institute and co-author of the study, said this advanced technology can also be used to outfit the lab coats of scientists working with hazardous substances or pathogens, and even the uniforms of first responders and military personnel and “the dangerous pathogens.” or exposure to toxins such as nerve gas. “
The team is now looking for manufacturing partners who can make these masks in large numbers so that they can be made available during the pandemic, researchers said.
