Rochester researchers develop nanoscale device to fight influenza

According to NIAID 2001 (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) data, nearly 63,730 deaths occur every year in USA due to influenza and pneumonia. The toll touches 20,000 for flu. The figure is alarming in other countries in the world too. In a bid to fight influenza-related diseases, the scientists are now exploiting nanotechnology.

nanocavity sens

The researchers at the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York have developed a nanoscale device, known as Nanocavity, which can detect influenza, severe acute respiratory syndrome, bird flu and other threatening viruses.

Nanocavity is a tiny senor device featuring a hexagonal array of tiny cavities. Each cavity is measured 240 nanometers in diameter and occupies a sensing area of 40 micrometers square. The sensor device has the ability to detect on quadrillionth of a gram of biological matter or about the size of certain viruses.

Explaining the Nanocavity, Philippe Fauchet of Rochester University says,

When a virus within a certain size range is caught in one of the nanocavities, the sensor transmits a light spectrum that is slightly different than the spectrum it transmits when no particles are present. We can then compare the two spectra to determine whether the target particle was captured, which forms the basis for a very simple yet powerful biosensor that could be used by untrained personnel, such as front-line health care providers.

The senor device is categorized into two major heads, two-dimensional photonic crystal and one dimensional silicon-based photonic crystal. The two-dimensional photonic crystal prompts photons to work in a similar way as a semiconductor prompts electrons to act. Where as, the one dimensional photonic crystal is very thin in nature and used to detect DNA, proteins and bacteria.

The research team has very successfully tested the device, which in the near future will be highly useful for mankind to fight influenza-related diseases.

Via: Physorg