PFI (RAPID): Assessment for COVID-19 RNA in Large Populations with Low-Cost, Mail-Safe, Fast-Scan Sensor Systems

这个创新伙伴关系（PFI）- RAPID项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一个诊断平台，非常适合在流行病期间广泛监测感染，例如当前的COVID-19威胁。 它包括一个低成本的邮件，可以在家里使用，在邮件中返回一个安全密封，保密的信封，并在收到后快速扫描，而无需打开诊断感染。 这些结果可以立即转发给用户，并且可以产生实时爆发地图沿着受影响的人口统计。 这种方法减轻了卫生工作者的诊断负担，消除了有限的个人防护设备的增加使用，并提供了更好的疫情应对措施。 地方和联邦政府可以更有效地分配资源，工人可以更明智地决定呆在家里还是去工作。 此外，该项目将训练一个由四名学生组成的团队，以快速合作，以满足基于论文工作技术的实际产品的设计约束。COVID-19以外的商业影响将是一个高度模块化的平台，可以快速适应当前的其他诊断需求（艾滋病毒、热带疾病）以及未来的大流行病。 拟议项目克服了目前COVID-19检测方法的局限性，这些方法受到1）医护人员必须收集样本，2）生物标本运输，以及3）使用当前RT-PCR技术进行评估的瓶颈。我们需要的是一种克服这些局限性的更快速的流行病控制基因检测方法。在这里，我们提出了一种新的传感器系统，该系统依赖于嵌入式非接触式传感器和灵敏的RNA检测和扩增，采用低成本、无源（无板载电源）的解决方案，允许用户收集样本并安全地携带或邮寄到本地扫描仪。在这项工作中，我们将设计对COVID-19 RNA敏感的基因开关（目标1），在无细胞蛋白质生产的纸基质上实现这些开关（目标2），并将它们与谐振传感器RF换能器集成（目标3）。 该项目的交付成果将是一个工作原型，在我们的合作实验室进行测试，沿着第一代数据可视化界面。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并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 broader impact/commercial potential of this Partnerships for Innovation (PFI)– RAPID Project is to develop a diagnostic platform that is well-suited for widespread monitoring of infection during pandemics, such as the current COVID-19 threat. It consists of a low-cost mailer that can be used at home, returned in the mail in a safely-sealed, confidential envelope and quickly scanned upon receipt without opening to diagnose infection. These results can be relayed to the user immediately and a real-time outbreak map along with affected demographics can be produced. This approach off-loads the burden of diagnostics from health workers, eliminates the increased use of limited personal protective equipment, and provides a better response to outbreaks. Resources could be more efficiently allocated by local and federal governments, and workers could make more informed decisions on staying at home or going to work. Moreover, this project will train a team of four students to collaborate quickly together to meet the design constraints of an actual product based on technologies from their thesis work. Commercial impact beyond COVID-19 would be a highly modular platform that can be rapidly adapted to other current diagnostic needs (HIV, tropical diseases) as well as future pandemics. The proposed project overcomes the current methods of COVID-19 detection which are limited by 1) healthcare workers having to collect samples, 2) shipment of biological specimens, and 3) bottleneck of assessment with current RT-PCR techniques. What is needed is a more rapid method of widespread genetic testing for epidemic control that overcomes these limitations. Here we propose a new sensor system that relies on embedded contact-free sensors and sensitive RNA detection and amplification in a low-cost, passive (no onboard power) solution that allows for the user to collect sample and safely carry or mail to a local scanner. In this work we will design genetic switches sensitive to COVID-19 RNA (aim 1), implement these switches on paper substrates with cell free protein production (aim 2), and integrate them with a resonant sensor RF transducer (aim 3). The project deliverable will be a working prototype that is tested in our collaborative labs, along with a first generation data visualization interface.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.