EAGER SENTINELS: The PCR-free Biosensor for a Fast, Simple, and Sensitive Detection of RNA.

最近的大流行突出表明，迫切需要快速和准确地检测病毒，以便早期诊断和监测疾病，防止未来的大流行病，并通过及时的保健减少并发症和死亡的风险。目前，基于聚合酶链反应（PCR）的诊断测试被广泛应用于病毒检测。尽管有出色的分析参数，但在最近的COVID大流行期间，该技术的重大缺陷变得明显。更具体地说，基于PCR的测试不仅需要昂贵的实验室设备和训练有素的人员，而且它们也很耗时，并且不适合即时护理设备。例如，通常需要两到三天才能获得基于PCR的COVID-19检测结果。因此，病毒的传播变得更难以控制。该项目的目的是开发一种快速，简单，经济可行的生物传感平台，不需要PCR。本项目旨在为本科生提供生物传感器开发的跨学科培训，并为当地高中生提供探索诊断领域的机会。本项目旨在设计并实现快速，超灵敏，适应性强的无PCR生物传感平台，用于病毒RNA检测。具体来说，所提出的生物传感器将基于新发现的CRISPR-Cas（CRISPR相关的规则间隔短回文重复序列）核酸酶，该核酸酶显示出高选择性，并且可以重新编程以检测各种病毒的RNA。新的信号放大方案的开发和整合将允许规避PCR扩增步骤。这项研究不仅将导致新的RNA传感方法，而且还将为开发基于替代但密切相关的Cas核酸酶的DNA生物传感器提供蓝图。由于易于配置和操作，拟议的生物传感器更经济，更快，不需要复杂的设备和人员培训，从而解决当前的公共卫生需求。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

The recent pandemic has highlighted the urgent need for rapid and accurate detection of viruses to allow for early disease diagnosis and monitoring to prevent future pandemics and to reduce the risk of complications and mortality through timely health care. Currently, diagnostic tests based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) are widely applied for the detection of viruses. Despite outstanding analytical parameters, significant drawbacks of this technology have become evident during the recent COVID pandemic. More specifically, PCR-based tests require not only expensive laboratory equipment and highly trained personnel, but they are also time-consuming and not well adapted for point-of-care devices. For example, it usually takes two to three days to get the result of a PCR-based COVID-19 test. Consequently, the spread of the virus becomes less containable. The purpose of this project is to develop a fast, easy, and economically feasible biosensing platform that does not require PCR. This project also aims to provide undergraduate students with interdisciplinary training in the development of biosensors, and local high school students with an opportunity to explore the field of diagnostics.This project is to design and realize a rapid, ultrasensitive, and adaptable PCR-free biosensing platform for viral RNA detection. Specifically, the proposed biosensor will be based on the newly discovered CRISPR-Cas (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat – CRISPR associated) nuclease that shows high selectivity, and can be reprogrammed to detect various viruses’ RNAs. The development and integrations of a novel signal amplification scheme will allow circumvention of the PCR amplification step. Not only will this research lead to the novel RNA sensing approach, but it will also provide a blueprint for developing a DNA biosensor based on an alternative but closely related Cas nuclease. Due to the ease of configuration and operation, the proposed biosensor is more economical, faster, and will not require sophisticated equipment and personnel training, thereby addressing current needs in public health.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.