New research: Test using graphene shown to detect coronavirus in lab

In experiments, researchers combined sheets of graphene, which are more than 1,000 times thinner than a postage stamp, with an antibody designed to target the spike protein on the coronavirus.

A wall is painted at Sukhamoy HS School in Agartala. (Express Photo: Abhishek Saha)

Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago (IUIC) have successfully used graphene to detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus in laboratory experiments.

In experiments, researchers combined sheets of graphene, which are more than 1,000 times thinner than a postage stamp, with an antibody designed to target the spike protein on the coronavirus. They then measured the atomic-level vibrations of these graphene sheets when exposed to Covid-positive and Covid-negative samples in artificial saliva. These sheets were also tested in the presence of other coronaviruses, like MERS-CoV.

The researchers found that the vibrations of the antibody-coupled graphene sheet changed when treated with a Covid-positive sample, but not when treated with a Covid-negative sample or with other coronaviruses.

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Vibrational changes, measured with a device called a Raman spectrometer, were evident in under five minutes.

Their findings have been published in the American Chemical Society’s journal ACS Nano.

“There is a clear need in society for better ways to quickly and accurately detect Covid and its variants, and this research has the potential to make a real difference,” the UIC website quoted the paper’s senior author, Professor Vikas Berry, as saying.

Source: University of Illinois Chicago