Smart face masks can detect coronavirus in other people’s breath

To Claire Wilson

A face mask with a built-in virus sensor can detect minute amounts of coronavirus after 10 minutes of talking to an infected person.

The mask sends a signal to the smartphone of the person wearing the face covering, allowing them to decide to leave an area where the coronavirus is in the air or to remove the mask when they feel safe when the virus is undetected. will do so.

However, the results so far are based on early work. According to Yin Fang of China’s Tongji University, the masks have not yet been tested against the whole virus (just the surface proteins of the coronavirus) and the technology is still in development.

Fang’s team fits right in N95 A type of face mask that detects proteins on the outside of three viruses: two influenza strains, H5N1 When H1N1and SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes covid-19.

The sensor in the breathing valve of the mask has Aptamers, a short strand of DNA or RNA that can be designed to bind to a specific protein.Aptamers are similar antibodyused to detect coronavirus spike proteins Lateral flow testbut smaller and more stable.

When the aptamer binds to its target protein, it changes charge and a chip embedded in the mask sends a signal to a designated smartphone.

The team tested the masks by placing them in a sealed chamber and spraying small droplets of the liquid. An infected person coughing or talking – including the coronavirus spike protein or surface protein of two influenza viruses. After 10 minutes, the system was able to detect as little as 0.1 femtograms (0.0000000000000001 grams) of protein per milliliter of liquid.

The mask could be useful for people who need to be in indoor spaces with poor ventilation, Fang said. “This is a new technology that we can use to protect people.” The system could also be updated with aptamers that recognize different pathogens, he says.

The team has yet to test how often the mask falsely gives off warning signals when encountering surface proteins of other viruses.

Al Edwards A professor at the University of Reading in the UK says the idea has potential but needs further testing. “It’s really hard to make things work in the real world,” he says.

The principle of using highly sensitive aptamer-based tests could also be applied in other settings, such as placing sensors inside ventilators or inside hospital wards, he says.

Journal reference: project, DOI: 10.1016/j.matt.2022.08.020

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