An Early-warning Surveillance System for Airborne COVID-19 Viruses

COVID-19是一种传染病。COVID-19患者释放的空气传播病毒是该疾病快速传播的原因。在找到有效的疫苗之前，我们可能不得不与COVID-19共存数月。在最坏的情况下，可能永远找不到安全有效的疫苗，我们必须与病毒（如艾滋病-艾滋病毒）共存。因此，及早发现公共场所（如学校、购物中心、体育场馆等）空气中存在的COVID-19病毒，对于预防COVID-19的传播至关重要。技术上的挑战是开发一种可以在现场轻松部署的便携式设备，以检测和量化空气中微量的COVID-19病毒。在过去的7年里，我们成功地设计了一种芯片实验室（LOC）监测生物传感器，用于监测可能影响油菜和小麦的空气传播孢子。传感物联网（IoT）设备通过特设传感网络连接起来，以便及早向农民发出警告。在这项NSERC拨款中，我们将扩展我们的设计，将抗COVID-19单克隆抗体作为探针，选择性地捕获COVID-19病毒，并使用集成的Coulter计数器设备检测其存在。目标是直接和明确地将传感器表面上的COVID-19病毒数量与对抗系统的阻抗测量相关联。拟议中的预警技术对加拿大人和加拿大经济至关重要。这项技术可以帮助像Hidaca有限公司这样的小型加拿大企业开发新产品。这项研究还将使阿尔伯塔大学成为推动医疗保健生物技术新机会和应用的领先研究所。

COVID-19 is an infectious disease. Airborne viruses released from COVID-19 patients are responsible for the rapid spread of the disease. We might have to live with COVID-19 for months before we can find an effective vaccine. In the worst scenario, a safe and effective vaccine may never be found and we must live with the virus (like the AIDS-HIV virus). Therefore, early detection of the presence of the airborne COVID-19 virus in public places (e.g., schools, shopping centers, stadiums, etc.) is critical for preventing COVID-19 spreading. The technical challenge is to develop a portable device that can be easily deployed onsite to detect and quantify a minuscule quantity of COVID-19 virus in the air. Over the past 7 years, we have successfully designed a lab-on-chip (LOC) surveillance biosensor to monitor airborne spores that can impact canola and wheat. The sensing Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices are linked via ad-hoc sensing networks to warn farmers early. In this NSERC grant, we will extend our design by incorporating anti-COVID-19 monoclonal antibodies as probes to selectively capture the COVID-19 viruses and sense their presence with an integrated Coulter counter device. The goal is to directly and unambiguously correlate the number of COVID-19 viruses on the sensor surface with the impedance measurements of the countering system. The proposed early-warning technology is crucial for Canadians and the Canadian economy. This technology can help small Canadian enterprises, like Hidaca Ltd., to develop new products. This research will also position the University of Alberta as a leading institute in advancing new opportunities and applications in healthcare biotechnologies.