MIT scientist developed masks that automatically glow when corona virus is attached

The scenario of a pandemic took over the mind of Jim Collins many years before the new corona virus appeared. In 2014, his biotechnology lab at MIT began developing sensors capable of detecting Ebola virus, when it was freeze-dried on a piece of paper.

In 2016, this work was published in collaboration with a team of scientists from Harvard. Not long after, they tweaked the sensor to detect the Zika virus. The next target now, is clearly SARS-CoV-2, the virus that is causing the Covid-19 pandemic.

The more breakthrough idea this time, Collins and his colleagues are trying to develop a mask, which can glow when corona virus appears and sticks on it. This means that when an infected person coughs, sneezes or breathes, the virus triggers a fluorescent reaction on the mask and makes it glow.

When an infected person coughs, sneezes or breathes, the virus triggers a fluorescent reaction on the mask.

A mask like this can become a good screening for airports. It can replace the body heat scanners, the testing method being used but can still leave asymptomatic Covid-19 infected people.

" Or you and I can wear it to work or to work at the office. Hospitals can use it for patients in waiting rooms, as a screening measure against infected people , " Collins told Business Insider.

And of course, because masks can recognize corona viruses, doctors can also use them to diagnose patients on-site without having to send their samples to the lab.

How to make a mask glow when corona virus is in your breath?

Collins said his current laboratory project was in a " very early stage ", but the results from it were very promising. Over the past few weeks, his team has been testing the corona virus's ability to detect corona viruses in a small sample of saliva.

Right now, they are trying to design masks with embedded sensors, which will be developed into an over-the-counter medical device that anyone can buy at a pharmacy. Collins said that in the next few weeks, he hoped to prove this idea possible.

"Once we get there, further testing will be done on people at high risk of infection (such as nurses, family members taking care of Covid-19 patients or those with contact with them) to see if the mask works in real life , " Collins said.

Back in 2018, the technology to identify viruses through sensors was proven. Research published the same year said Collins's lab sensors can detect SARS, measles, flu, hepatitis C, West Nile and other viruses.

" In the beginning, we did this on paper, towards a cheap diagnostic device (like litmus paper) ," Collins said. " We have also demonstrated this sensor can work on plastics, quartz, and even fabrics."

These sensors can work on plastic, quartz and even fabrics.

Collins sensors contain genetic material that can bind to viral DNA or RNA, depending on the strain. The material is freeze-dried on a fabric by a machine called a lyophilizer, which absorbs all moisture out of it without damaging it. In this state, the material can remain stable at room temperature for several months, giving the respirator a relatively long shelf life.

Sensors need two conditions to be activated. The first is moisture, which our bodies exhale through respiratory droplets like mucus or saliva. Second, the sensor needs to detect the genetic sequence of the virus.

After discovering them, the genetic material binds to the RNA segments on the virus, and it " melts ", triggering biological reactions to emit light.

And for SARS-CoV-2 virus, its entire genetic sequence has been completely decoded. Collins said his sensors only need to identify a small segment of the 30,000-character string to detect the virus.

Once the sensor captures the gene segment of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, it will emit a fluorescent signal within one to three hours.

In addition, Collins's team is also developing a sensor that can change color, from yellow to purple, if a virus is detected. It is also a feasible direction, he said.

A faster and more accurate way to diagnose Covid-19

Collins is considered a pioneer scientist in the field of synthetic biology. He won a MacArthur genius grant in 2003. In 2018, his lab received a $ 50,000 grant from Johnson & Johnson to develop virus detection sensors that can be embedded in coats. .

Sensors can provide a cheaper, faster and more sensitive form of virus detection than traditional diagnostic tests. For example, Collins's sensors for Zika can diagnose patients within two to three hours, while the production cost is only about $ 20 each.

Researcher Jim Collins.

In comparison, the new corona virus test today still requires as early as 24 hours to give results. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced a test price of about US $ 36, while the price at private laboratories was US $ 51.

In addition, because Collins's sensors are unique, they can detect different strains of virus. In Zika's case, the sensors have identified three viruses from Africa, Asia and the Americas.

Scientists say that SARS-CoV-2 currently has two major variants: one that originated in Asia and another that has become more common in Europe, North America and Australia.

Collins' team said their test could identify a single point mutation with a 48% probability, so they hoped the mask could identify individual SARS-CoV-2 strains. distinct.

Collins aims to be able to produce the first glowing masks by the end of this summer, so they can be distributed to consumers in the winter, when many health experts think Covid-19 might flare up again.