Nucleic acid biosensors embedded in wearable fabrics
masks that can detect the new coronavirus in the air are coming
Science and Technology Daily, Beijing, June 29 (Reporter Zhang Mengran) If there is a nucleic acid biosensor that can be embedded in fabrics, can it detect bacteria and virus pathogens in the air, including the new coronavirus?
According to a paper published in the British journal Nature Biotechnology on the 29th, a team of American scientists successfully developed a wearable, freeze-dried, cell-free synthetic biological sensor using CRISPR technology. Standard laboratory results are consistent, and it can also be embedded in a flexible matrix for real-time and dynamic monitoring of target pathogens.
In the near future, this technology can be combined with masks for use by people who are at higher risk of exposure to pathogens in the work environment, such as primary care workers.
Using synthetic biology technology, nucleic acid biosensors for detecting pathogens can achieve high sensitivity and accuracy.
Such diagnostic tools contain genetic coding circuits that can detect nucleic acids of pathogens, and are often used to detect pathogens such as new coronaviruses in traditional point-of-care diagnostics.
If this synthetic biology technology is integrated into wearable devices, it can greatly improve the monitoring of pathogens or toxins.
However, although researchers have repeatedly reported that the freeze-dried pathogen detection circuit is embedded in flexible clothing fabrics, and fabrics that can encapsulate sensing bacteria have been developed before, it is very difficult to integrate and maintain engineered microorganisms. .
Scientists now believe that cell-free synthetic biological sensors can overcome these limitations.
This time, MIT researcher James Collins and his colleagues have produced a set of wearable, freeze-dried, cell-free synthetic biological sensors using CRISPR technology. These sensors can be activated by rehydration to detect viruses. The presence of specific genetic material.
Experiments have shown that the current performance of these wearable sensors is consistent with the laboratory test results that are regarded as the gold standard. Moreover, this sensor can be embedded in flexible substrates such as silicone rubber and silicone fabric to achieve real-time exposure to target pathogens. ,Dynamic Monitoring.
Researchers said that this technology can also be combined with masks to detect new coronaviruses spread in the air.
The successful embedding of synthetic biological sensors in wearable fabrics is the first step in creating multi-functional smart clothing, which is expected to achieve a wider range of applications such as biomedicine.
Editor-in-chief
No need to poke your throat for nucleic acid testing? Researchers have developed biological sensors that can be embedded in fabrics. The most powerful thing is that they can be used to monitor whether the human body is exposed to target pathogens in real time and dynamically. Does this mean that if there is a sufficient concentration of the virus in the air, the sensor can detect and issue a warning? The application scenarios of this sensor are not limited to the laboratory, it can be embedded in flexible fabrics and become a part of smart clothing. Will the new crown virus hide in the future? Can nucleic acid testing open up a new experience? Maybe the product needs to be improved and the user experience needs to be upgraded. But with such a sensor, it brings more possibilities.