{"id":1006,"date":"2021-02-06T11:34:16","date_gmt":"2021-02-06T17:34:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/hadron\/?p=1006"},"modified":"2021-02-06T11:34:16","modified_gmt":"2021-02-06T17:34:16","slug":"nanomaterial-based-biosensor-for-covid-19-antibodies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/hadron\/2021\/02\/06\/nanomaterial-based-biosensor-for-covid-19-antibodies\/","title":{"rendered":"Nanomaterial-Based Biosensor for COVID-19 Antibodies"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Written By: Kaylee Zhou<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh\u2019s investigators have recently partnered together to create a nanomaterial-based biosensor platform. Their creation can detect the presence of COVID-19 antibodies in mere seconds. The platform can not only quickly identify if a patient has been previously infected and built up resistance against COVID-19, but also assist in testing whether patients are appropriately responding to the newly approved vaccines (ClinicalOMICs, 2021). This biosensor\u2019s detection allows scientists to learn more about not only COVID-19 antibodies but also antibodies present in many other dieases such as HIV, Ebola, and the Zika virus.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Biosensor Platform Construction<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rahul Panat, an associate professor at Carnegie Mellon and a contributor toward the biosensor\u2019s creation, said, \u201cWe utilized the latest advances in materials and manufacturing such as nanoparticle 3D printing towards our device\u201d (Kulick, 2021). In fact, the investigators selected aerosol jet 3D printing as their primary manufacturing technology. The aerosol jet printing process focuses on using aerodynamics to precisely place electronic inks onto a surface (Optomec, 2018). Since the biosensor platform utilized 3D printing, the aerodynamics would be placing a different material onto the surface. By applying this technology, the investigators used aerosol droplets, which were thermally sinistered, to create small gold micropillar electrodes (Meara, 2021). This meant that the aerosol droplet particles were bonded together until a solid structure, which was the micropillar electrodes, were able to form.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Figure 1<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1007 aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/hadron\/files\/2021\/02\/253000_web-300x202.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"423\" height=\"285\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/hadron\/files\/2021\/02\/253000_web-300x202.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/hadron\/files\/2021\/02\/253000_web-82x55.jpg 82w, https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/hadron\/files\/2021\/02\/253000_web-400x270.jpg 400w, https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/hadron\/files\/2021\/02\/253000_web.jpg 666w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 423px) 100vw, 423px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This is an image of the Biosensor Platform that has been made by nanoparticle 3D printing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Advanced Manufacturing and Materials Lab, College of Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University. (2021). 3D Printed COVID-19 Test Chip. https:\/\/www.eurekalert.org\/multimedia\/pub\/253000.php<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>How does it work?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">After the electrodes are produced, a layer of antigen is coated onto them. The platform samples use very small blood droplets, sometimes as little as five microliters, to apply onto the electrodes (ClinicalOMICs, 2021). From this blood, the biosensor is able to detect if either the S1 protein or the receptor-binding domain (RBD), which are two of COVID-19\u2019s antibodies, are present (Kulick, 2021). The previously-mentioned coated antigen is a substance that is capable of provoking an immune response; therefore, if either the S1 protein or the receptor-binding domain binds to the coated antigen, it would prove that antibodies are present. The platform knows when to send a positive antibody alert to a connected smartphone or computer because the device\u2019s electrical currents are altered when a bind occurs (ClinicalOMICs, 2021). Furthermore, the produced electrodes have both an enhanced electrochemical reaction and a large geometric shape that provides an opportunity for more proteins to latch onto the micropillars, resulting in more accurate detections (Meara, 2021).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Testing Accuracy<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">As the investigators researched and experimented with their biosensor, they realized that the antibody and antigen bind was very selective, so they took advantage of this natural occurrence (Kulick, 2021). They then elaborated on their low error rate by explaining the electrode regeneration process. The electrodes&#8217; sensors were regenerated and refreshed using a low pH solution, such as acidic water, to release the antibody from the antigen (Meara, 2021).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Conclusion<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The investigators emphasized that since their biosensor device is generic, it has the capability to test for other diseases apart from COVID-19, such as HIV, Ebola, and the Zika virus. Professor Panat has stated, \u201cBecause our technique can quantify the immune response to vaccination, it is very relevant in the current environment\u201d (Meara, 2021). This biosensor breakthrough will be essential for the control and spread of COVID-19 and other diseases.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>References and Sources<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">ClinicalOMICs. (2021, January 11). Nanomaterial-Based Biosensor Can Detect COVID-19 Antibodies in Seconds. Retrieved January 22, 2021, from https:\/\/www.clinicalomics.com\/topics\/patient-care\/coronavirus\/nanomaterial-based-biosensor-can-detect-covid-19-antibodies-in-seconds\/<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Kulick, L. (2021). Detecting COVID-19 antibodies in 10-12 seconds. Retrieved January 22, 2021, from https:\/\/www.eurekalert.org\/pub_releases\/2021-01\/coec-dc010721.php<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Meara, K. (2021). 3D Printed Electrodes Detect COVID-19 Antibodies in Seconds. Retrieved January 22, 2021, from https:\/\/www.contagionlive.com\/view\/3d-printed-electrodes-detect-covid-19-antibodies-in-seconds<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Optomec. (2018, August 02). 3D Printed Electronics &#8211; Aerosol Jet Technology . Retrieved January 22, 2021, from http:\/\/optomec.com\/printed-electronics\/aerosol-jet-technology\/#:~:text=The%20Aerosol%20Jet%20process%20uses,5%20microns%20diameter%20(2).&amp;text=Printed%20features%20range%20from%2010%20microns%20to%20millimeters<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Written By: Kaylee Zhou Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh\u2019s investigators have recently partnered together to create a nanomaterial-based biosensor platform. Their creation can detect the presence of COVID-19 antibodies in mere seconds. The platform can not only quickly identify if a patient has<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":461,"featured_media":1008,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1006","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-covid-19"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/hadron\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1006","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/hadron\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/hadron\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/hadron\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/461"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/hadron\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1006"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/hadron\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1006\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1009,"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/hadron\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1006\/revisions\/1009"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/hadron\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1008"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/hadron\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/hadron\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/hadron\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}