Face mask can detect viral exposure

Presented in the journal Matter, the mask can alert wearers via their mobile devices within ten minutes if targeted pathogens are present in the surrounding air. 

Respiratory pathogens that cause Covid-19 and H1N1 influenza spread through small droplets and aerosols released by people when they talk, cough and sneeze. These virus-containing molecules, especially tiny aerosols, can remain suspended in the air for a very long time.

Yin Fang, the study’s corresponding author and a material scientist at Shanghai Tongji University, tested the mask with his colleagues in an enclosed chamber by spraying the viral surface protein containing trace-level liquid and aerosols on the mask.

According to the team, the sensor responded to as little as 0.3 microlitres of liquid containing viral proteins. This is about 70 to 560 times less than the volume of liquid produced in one sneeze and much less than the volume produced by coughing or talking, Fang said.

The team designed a small sensor with aptamers, a type of synthetic molecule that can identify unique proteins of pathogens like antibodies. In their proof-of-concept design, researchers modified the multi-channel sensor with three types of aptamers, which can simultaneously recognise surface proteins on SARS-CoV-2, H5N1 and H1N1.