RAPID: Development and Testing of Low-Cost Sensor Platforms for SARS-CoV-2 in Aerosols

新冠肺炎大流行在全球范围内影响了人类健康，迄今已有超过25万人死亡。越来越多的证据表明，新冠肺炎是通过被称为气雾剂的小呼吸道飞沫中的SARS-COV2病毒传播的。为了减缓新冠肺炎的传播，我们需要更好地了解这些水滴中有多少病毒通过空气传播。目前测量病毒的方法太耗时，无法提供全面抗击通过空中传播所需的信息。利用纳米技术，这项拟议的研究将开发一种更快的方法来测量小液滴中的病毒。这将使我们能够在更多的地点测量病毒，以跟踪它们在室内空气中传播的情况。该项目团队利用纳米技术、气溶胶科学和病毒检测方面的研究专业知识。该项目的成功完成将导致生产出一种更快速的新冠肺炎分析工具，这种工具不需要提取核糖核酸，可以用于快速和廉价的检测。检测结果将被用来评估推荐的社交距离“六英尺规则”的科学有效性。目前迫切需要对导致新冠肺炎大流行的呼吸道病毒SARS-CoV2进行快速而灵敏的环境检测。目前大多数检测SARS-CoV2病毒的方法依赖于RT-qPCR来定量病毒RNA。这些技术既是劳动力密集型的，也是成本密集型的。本研究的目的是建立一种快速检测SARS-CoV2病毒的方法，以验证SARS-CoV2病毒是通过气溶胶传播的假设。第二个目标是评估推荐的六英尺社交距离指南是否科学有效，因为支持这一建议的研究很少。这些目标将通过开发用于快速检测气雾化SARS-CoV2病毒的低成本传感器平台来实现，该平台使用表面增强拉曼光谱(SERS)在一小时内检测到病毒。这项研究的次要目标是将开发的平台部署在建成环境中以量化SARS-CoV2的运输。该项目团队包括在纳米传感器开发、生物气溶胶表征和病毒检测方面拥有免费专业知识的研究人员。在传感器平台的开发中，我们将使用塑料和织物优惠券以及金纳米纤维素和金胶带SERS底物来检查病毒恢复和检测。建筑环境中雾化SARS-CoV2的运输将使用PHI6(SARS-Cov2的替代品)和热灭活SARS-CoV2进行评估，以产生大小和速度与人类呼吸、说话和咳嗽一致的气雾剂和水滴。低成本传感器平台将部署在离气雾源不同距离的地方。病毒浓度将使用SERS分析进行测量，并与使用RT-qPCR的结果进行比较以进行验证。这项工作将首次明确侧重于开发低成本的基于SERS的传感器平台，用于检测气雾剂或液滴中的SARS-CoV2。对SARS-CoV2的“六英尺”社会距离建议的有效性的评估将带来额外的社会利益。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted human health on a global scale, with over a quarter million fatalities to date. There is growing evidence that COVID-19 is transmitted by the presence of SARS-COV2 virus in small respiratory droplets known as aerosols. To slow transmission of COVID-19, we need a better understanding of how much virus travels through the air in these droplets. Current methods to measure the virus are too time consuming to provide information necessary to fully combat transmission through air. Using nanotechnology, the proposed research will develop a faster way to measure viruses in small droplets. This will allow us to measure the virus in more locations to track them as they move through indoor air. The project team leverages research expertise in nanotechnology, aerosol science, and viral detection. Successful completion of this project will lead to production of a more rapid COVID-19 analysis tool that does not require RNA extraction and can be used for rapid and inexpensive testing. Results will be used to evaluate the scientific validity of the “six-foot rule” recommended for social distancing.There is a pressing need for rapid and sensitive environmental detection of the respiratory virus SARS-CoV2, the agent responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. Most current approaches for SARS-CoV2 detection rely upon RT-qPCR for quantification of viral RNA. These techniques are both labor and cost intensive. The goal of this research is to develop a rapid SARS-CoV2 detection method to test the hypothesis that SARS-CoV2 is spread by aerosols. A second goal is to assess whether the recommended six-foot social distancing guideline is scientifically valid, as research supporting this recommendation is sparse. These goals will be achieved through the development of a low-cost sensor platform for the rapid detection of aerosolized SARS-CoV2 virus that uses surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) to detect viruses in under an hour. The secondary objective of this study is to deploy the developed platform within the built environment to quantify SARS-CoV2 transport. The project team includes researchers with complimentary expertise in nanosensor development, bioaerosol characterization, and virus detection. In the development of the sensor platform we will examine virus recovery and detection using both plastic and fabric coupons as well as gold-nanocellulose and gold-adhesive tape SERS substrates. Transport of aerosolized SARS-CoV2 in the built environment will be assessed using Phi6 (a surrogate for SARS-Cov2) and heat-inactivated SARS-CoV2 nebulized to generate aerosols and droplets with sizes and velocities consistent with human breathing, talking, and coughing. The low-cost sensor platform will be deployed at various distances from an aerosolization source. Virus concentrations will be measured using the SERS assay and compared to results using RT-qPCR for validation. This effort will be the first to explicitly focus on development of low-cost SERS-based sensor platforms for detection of SARS-CoV2 within aerosols or droplets. Additional societal benefits will result from assessment of the validity of the “six foot” social-distancing recommendation for SARS-CoV2.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.