The future could hold portable and wearable sensors for detecting viruses and bacteria in the surrounding environment. But we're not there yet. Scientists at Tohoku University have been studying materials that can change mechanical into electrical or magnetic energy, and vice versa, for decades. Together with colleagues, they published a review in the journal Advanced Materials about the most recent endeavours into using these materials to fabricate functional biosensors.
"Research on improving the performance of virus sensors has not progressed much in recent years," says Tohoku University materials engineer Fumio Narita. "Our review aims to help young researchers and graduate students understand the latest progress to guide their future work for improving virus sensor sensitivity."
Piezoelectric materials convert mechanical into electrical energy. Antibodies that interact with a specific virus can be placed on an electrode incorporated onto a piezoelectric material. When the target virus interacts with the antibodies, it causes an increase in mass that decreases the frequency of the electric current moving through the material, signalling its presence. This type of sensor is being investigated for detecting several viruses, including the cervical-cancer-causing human papilloma virus, HIV, influenza A, Ebola and hepatitis B.
