A group of Chinese scientists have developed a mask that can detect exposure to a virus during a 10-minute conversation with an infected person.
Respiratory pathogens that cause COVID-19 and influenza are transmitted through droplets and aerosols emitted by infected people when they talk, cough and sneeze.
The bioelectronic mask designed by researchers at Tongji University can detect common respiratory viruses, including influenza and coronavirus, in the air through droplets or aerosols and then alert wearers via their mobile devices.
This highly sensitive mask is capable of measuring 0.3 microliter liquid samples and gaseous samples at an ultra-low concentration of 0.1 femtograms per milliliter, according to the study published this week in the journal Matter.
The benchmark for detecting liquid containing viral proteins in a closed room is “regarding 70 to 560 times less than the volume of liquid produced during a sneeze and much less than the volume produced by coughing or speaking” said the paper’s lead author, Fang Yin, a professor at Tongji University.
His team designed a small sensor with three types of synthetic molecules that can simultaneously recognize surface proteins on SARS-CoV-2, H5N1 and H1N1 viruses.
When these molecules detect the target proteins, a transistor with an ion gate built into the mask amplifies the signal and alerts the wearer, according to the study.
The designers said they might easily update the wearable device to detect new respiratory viruses.
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