Researchers in Iowa have used nanotechnology to develop a very small silicon chip to catch and help identify viruses, according to Technology Research News. The device, dubbed the ViriChip, is used in conjunction with an atomic force microscope (AFM). The prototype is already able to identify several viruses and should be in labs in less than two years. A particular application could help save lives by enabling doctors to check a donor heart for potential infections before transplanting it to a patient.
Researchers from BioForce Nanosciences, Inc., Iowa State University and Des Moines University have combined an atomic force microscope with a method of capturing virus particles to produce a tool that rapidly detects viruses.
The atomic force microscopy immunocapture assay consists of a chip, dubbed the ViriChip, that contains antibody molecules used to selectively capture viruses. An atomic force microscope is then used to analyze what has been trapped. Atomic force microscopes use nanoscale tips to trace the topography of surfaces and are capable of detecting individual atoms.
Here is how looks the ViriChip (Credit: BioForce Nanosciences, Inc.).
This method has a huge advantage: it doesn't destroy the viruses.
The method identifies a virus using an entire virus particle rather than viral components, can detect viruses in liquids, and does not need to destroy viruses during the identification process. This allows intact, identified viruses to be further analyzed, according to the researchers.
Standard virus detection methods destroy viruses by chemically extracting DNA or RNA in order to generate the many copies of the molecules need for genetic analysis.
The prototype is able to recognize six different iruses today. Here is an image of a specific virus, the T-Phage, detected using the ViriChip (Credit: BioForce Nanosciences, Inc.).
Of course, when the device is available, in one or two years, it will be able to catch and identify many more viruses.
For more information about the ViriChip, you can read other articles published by New Scientist, nanotechweb.org or Betterhumans.
The research paper has been published by Nanotechnology in its March 2004 issue under the name "ViriChip: a solid phase assay for detection and identification of viruses by AFM." You can find the abstract here and the full paper there (PDF format, 7 pages, 913 KB).
Sources: Technology Research News, March 10-17, 2004; and other related websites
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