MicroParticle photophysics illuminates viral bio-sensing

Area of Science:

• Biophysics
• Nanotechnology
• Infectious Disease Diagnostics

Background:

• Accurate and rapid virus detection is crucial for public health and disease management.
• Current detection methods can be time-consuming, require labeling, or lack sensitivity for single virions.
• Whispering gallery mode (WGM) resonators offer high sensitivity for detecting minute mass changes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a specific and rapid method for unlabeled virus detection using a microsphere-based WGM sensor.
• To demonstrate the theoretical capability of the sensor to detect single virions.
• To create a microfluidic device for discriminating between viruses of similar size and shape.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a microsphere-based whispering gallery mode (WGM) sensor functionalized with antibodies.
• Transduced the interaction between whole viruses and anchored antibodies into a detectable signal.
• Developed a microfluidic device integrated with the WGM sensor for sample handling and analysis.

Main Results:

• The proposed WGM sensor enables specific and rapid unlabeled virus detection.
• Theoretical analysis indicates the sensor's capability to detect single virions, even those below the mass of HIV.
• The integrated microfluidic device successfully discriminated between viruses with similar physical characteristics.

Conclusions:

• The microsphere-based WGM sensor represents a promising platform for highly sensitive, label-free virus detection.
• This technology has the potential to significantly advance rapid diagnostics for viral pathogens.
• The integration with microfluidics enhances the utility for distinguishing between closely related viral particles.