A team of researchers at the McKelvey School of Engineering and the School of Medicine has developed a proof-of-concept air quality monitor that can detect live SARS-CoV-2 virus in indoor environments. The monitor uses a biosensor made with nanobodies that is integrated into an air sampler that operates based on the wet cyclone technology. Credit: Joseph Puthussery
Proof-of-concept device could also monitor for flu, RSV, and other respiratory viruses.
Now that the emergency phase of the COVID-19 pandemic has ended, scientists are looking at ways to surveil indoor environments in real-time for viruses. By combining recent advances in aerosol sampling technology and an ultrasensitive biosensing technique, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have created a real-time monitor that can detect any of the SARS-CoV-2 virus variants in a room in about 5 minutes monitor for flu, RSV, and other respiratory viruses.