Scientists develop mask with integrated test capable of diagnosing Covid-19

Wyss Institute researchers, from Harvard university, Does MIT, no United State, developed a kind of test COVID-19 They can be installed in masks and are able to deliver the result less than two hours after their activation. The discovery was revealed Monday (28) in the journal “Nature Biotechnology.”

This is a device with a tissue detector pre-installed on the mask. Anyone using the addon can activate the test with a button.

According to the researchers, the result is obtained in 90 minutes and delivered The level of accuracy is similar to PCR type tests The device is usually made with a swab-like device.

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Co-author Peter Nguyen, a scientist at the Wyss Institute who was involved in the research, says.

“Our biosensors can also be integrated into other tissues to provide rapid detection of hazardous elements such as viruses, bacteria, toxins and chemical agents,” Nguyen adds.

The explanation of how it works is at the molecular level, far beyond what ordinary microscopes can achieve. To manufacture the material, the researchers extracted and dried elements of molecules that human cells use to read DNA and make RNA and proteins.

In order to activate them, these little machines in our cells need only water. With the addition of genetic circuits to make precise biosensors, the device is working to detect coronavirus infection from target molecules present in the SARS-CoV-2 structure.

Image of the on-device experiment published in Nature Biotechnology – Image: Disclosure

The coronavirus sensor is a precursor to the Covid-19 pandemic: Researchers were searching for devices to find the Zika virus during the 2015 outbreak, which alarmed international health agencies.

With the pandemic, efforts have been focused on finding ways to help fight the pandemic. And the device, which will be applied to other types of clothing, has finally been linked to protective masks.

“I am particularly proud of the way our team has worked together in the pandemic to find actionable solutions to some of the world’s testing challenges,” said researcher Jim Collins, a member of Wyss College of Core.