STTR Phase I: Development of Aptamer-ssDNA Intelligent Hydrogel Materials for Magnetoelastic Detection of Avian Influenza Virus

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。这个小企业技术转让（STTR）I期项目是合成一种智能聚合物水凝胶，并开发一种用于快速检测禽流感（AI）病毒的无线、远程和灵敏的磁弹性传感器。高致病性禽流感病毒H5 N1株每年造成数百人死亡和数十亿美元的经济损失。迫切需要高灵敏度的技术来早期识别和根除禽流感病毒。由于单链DNA和适体之间的交联以及聚合物网络中连接的溶解，预期所提出的智能材料在不存在和存在AI病毒的情况下会收缩和膨胀。该研究的广泛影响在于开发新的生物传感材料，用于生物、农业、医学和环境领域的快速诊断。通过将ssDNA和适体引入聚合物结构中，将为病毒响应材料的合成开辟一条新的途径。此外，拟议的项目旨在改进流感诊断技术，防止禽流感在鸡群之间传播或进入人群。这项研究的成功成果将为家禽和食品工业提供直接的经济效益，促进诊断技术，改善人类健康。该方法有望为禽流感、人流感和猪流感的鉴别和检测提供一种快速、低成本、高灵敏度和可靠的解决方案。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is to synthesize an intelligent polymer hydrogel, and to develop a wireless, remote and sensitive magnetoelastic sensor for rapid detection of avian influenza (AI) virus. The highly pathogenic AI strain H5N1 virus has caused hundreds of human deaths and billion dollars of economic loss per year. High sensitive techniques for early identification and eradication of AI viruses are urgently needed. The proposed smart material is expected to shrink and swell in the absence and presence of AI virus due to the crosslinking between single stranded DNA and aptamers and dissolution of the linkage in the polymer network. The shrinking and swelling of the hydrogel upon AI virus could be sensitively monitored with a wireless magnetoelastic mass-based sensor platform.The broader impacts of this research are on the development of new biosensing materials for rapid diagnostics in the fields of biology, agriculture, medicine and environment. It will open a new way to synthesize virus-responsive materials by introducing ssDNA and aptamers into polymer structures. Moreover, the proposed project is to improve influenza diagnostic technologies and to prevent avian influenza from spread between flocks or into the human population. The successful outcome of this research should provide direct economic benefits to poultry and food industries, promote diagnostic technologies, and improve human health. This proposed method has the potential to provide a rapid, low-cost, high sensitive and reliable solution for identification and detection of avian influenza as well as human and swine influenza.