NanoMIP based biomimetic receptors for virus detection and removal using integrated approaches

约有8.84亿人无法获得卫生饮用水，约占全球人口的13%。因此，每年有数百万人因感染水传播疾病而死亡。增加获得安全、清洁饮用水的机会可以大大减少死亡并增进全球公共卫生。病毒是在水源中发现的致病性最强的污染物之一。即使很少的病毒颗粒具有传染性，它们在环境中也能长时间保持稳定。水中的病毒检测需要合格的人员和专门的分析方法。这些技术的检测限不足以使研究人员得出样本完全没有病毒的结论。因此，本项目旨在开发用于基于生物传感器的病毒检测的仿生受体，并将其嵌入到色谱柱和膜过滤器中以去除病毒。该项目将紧密结合计算和实验研究，以提高表位芯片和受体嵌入色谱柱/膜过滤器的成功率。因此，为了获得高效的病毒感知和捕获受体，将使用分子动力学计算模拟病毒表面的蛋白质外壳。结合区（表位）的稳定性和构象变化将在这种情况下决定，因为生物分子的行为对其作用机制和分子相互作用起着重要作用。计算模拟也将进行受体设计，以确定最佳的制造配方。然后使用创新的分子印迹技术合成表位受体。仿生表位受体将用于传感器表位芯片的开发。表位芯片将被集成到电化学和光学生物传感器中，它们将能够通过表位区域感知整个病毒。每个表位受体与病毒之间的结合相互作用将根据传感器结果确定。然后将高亲和受体分别嵌入色谱柱和膜过滤器中进行病毒捕获和去除。拟议的项目可提供敏感和易于使用的病毒检测/清除原则，从而有助于解决全球健康问题。今天，市场上有很多生物传感器设备在研究和开发。然而，他们仍然远离现场工作，非常昂贵，他们需要一个训练有素的人来进行分析。开发的表位芯片将填补这些空白，因为它们将被集成到任何生物传感器设备中。该项目在色谱柱和膜过滤器应用方面的成功将产生巨大的影响，特别是在发展中国家。

Approximately 884 million people lack access to sanitary drinking water which accounts for roughly 13% of global population. As a consequence, this causes the death of millions of people every year due to the contraction of waterborne diseases. Increasing access tosafe, clean drinking water can significantly reduce deaths and increase global public health. Viruses are one of the most pathogenic contaminants found in water sources. Even few virus particles are infectious and they are stable in environment for extended periods of time. Virus detection in water requires qualified personnel and specialized analytical methods. The detection limits of these techniques are not enough for researchers to conclude that a sample is completely free of viruses. Therefore, this project aims to develop biomimetic receptors to be used in biosensor-based virus detection and also to be embedded into chromatographic columns and membrane filters for virus removal. The project will tightly connect computational and experimental research to increase the success of epitope chips and receptor embedded chromatographic columns/membrane filters. Thus, to obtain highly efficient receptors for virus sensing and capture, the protein coats on virus surfaces will be simulated using molecular dynamic calculations. The stability and conformational changes of the binding regions (epitopes) will be determined in these circumstances since the behavior of biological molecules plays important role for their mechanism of action and molecular interaction. Computational simulations will also be carried out for receptor design to determine the optimal manufacturing recipes. The receptors will be then synthesized for the epitopes using an innovative molecular imprinting technique. The biomimetic-epitope receptors will be used for the development of epitope-chips for sensors. The epitope-chips will be incorporated in/to electrochemical and optical biosensors and they will be capable of sensing whole virus via epitope regions. The binding interactions between each epitope-receptor and virus will be determined based on sensor results. The high affinity receptors will be then embedded into chromatographic columns and membrane filters for virus capture and removal, respectively. The proposed project may contribute to the solution for global health problems by offering sensitive and easy-to-use detection/removal principles for viruses. Today, there are a lot of biosensor devices on the market for research and development. However, they are still far away from fieldwork, very expensive and they require a well-trained person to conduct analyses. The developed epitope-chips will fill these gaps as they will be integrated into any biosensor device. The success of the project in chromatographic column and membrane filter applications will have an immense impact, particularly in developing countries.