COVID-19 in the air can be detected in milliseconds using new technology.
The world has been scrambling to develop COVID-19 testing methods that are increasingly quick, accurate, and affordable since 2020. Scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) made the announcement in October 2022 that they had created COVID-detecting bubbles packed with nanotechnology.
The world has been scrambling to develop COVID-19 testing methods that are increasingly quick, accurate, and affordable since 2020. Scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) made the announcement in October 2022 that they had created COVID-detecting bubbles packed with nanotechnology.
These high-tech micellar bubbles could be installed in a device in an air duct, on the ceiling, or anywhere else where there is regular air movement. The bubbles would burst and release an electronic signal whenever there was even a trace of the COVID-19 virus in the air.
The PNNL team discovered that they could basically create a virus-detecting alarm by filling micelles with a salt that can produce electronic signals. Until a virus particle comes into contact with one of the micelles’ surfaces, the micelles remain dormant.
The micelles have been constructed in such a way that whenever even the tiniest COVID-19 virus particle comes into contact with the surface of one of the bubbles, the micelle pops open, releases salt, and immediately transmits an electronic signal. One virus particle is magnified into ten billion molecules by it.
The micelle at PNNL has two layers. It basically consists of two micelles encased in one that is coated in polymer. They are thinner than a hair strand and have a width of about 5 microns. The surface of them is etched with silica. The virus can bind to these imprints and pop open the micelle.
• Lead Scientist Lance Hubbard says “Combining micelles with a technology to imprint or stamp them is not something many people have done before”. They began the project in hopes of developing a way for soldiers to detect explosives in combat, they shifted when the pandemic hit.
This kind of technology could be used to stop the spread of COVID-19 in high-traffic buildings with vulnerable populations, like schools, hospitals, emergency rooms, and others. It is a low-cost, straightforward, and efficient strategy that has the potential to transform virus containment.
The detection of virus particles by the device takes only milliseconds. The signal’s accuracy and the absence of false alarms are even guaranteed by a built-in quality control mechanism. This is a significant improvement over the personal and invasive COVID detection methods currently in use.
This technology has a patent on it, and in order for PNNL to manufacture and distribute the device for widespread use, it will need to connect with a licensing partner. This kind of equipment could be crucial as the world tries to move on from the COVID-19 catastrophe.
