EAGER: Collaborative Research: Detection and analysis of airborne coronavirus with bioinspired membranes

The spread of biological pathogens via aerosolized droplets continues to be of primary concern during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, the ability to capture and analyze aerosolized pathogens is critical to understand and mitigate the potential for reoccurring outbreaks of COVID-19 or other novel pathogens. To address this need, an interdisciplinary research team from the University of Maine and the University of Massachusetts Amherst will engineer a bioinspired technology that facilitates the efficient collection of viruses from bioaerosols. The inspiration for the technology is the carnivorous Nepenthes pitcher plant, which has a slippery rim and inner walls causing insects to fall and become trapped within its digestive fluid. By engineering a composite material comprised of a liquid layer on the surface of a membrane, the capture and analysis of pathogenic particles will be enabled. The team will optimize the membrane system to work with SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 outbreak, in aerosolized droplets that mimic those released during talking, coughing, and sneezing. This work will fill a critical gap in current methods of monitoring the spread of disease through fast-tracked research and development of an inexpensive, high-throughput, and widely deployable technology that can be continuously operated at high-risk locations, such as hospitals, elder-care facilities, and travel hubs.

Disease-causing agents such as the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) that take form as bioaerosols present unique challenges for disease surveillance, containment, and treatment. Previous attempts to design aerosol collection systems for viruses have had limited success due to either the difficulty of retrieving intact virus particles from a solid filter surface or inadequate throughput. This project seeks to address these limitations by adapting a liquid-gated membrane (LGM) system inspired by the Nepenthes pitcher plant. The system adaptation employs a water-immiscible liquid on the surface of the membrane that creates a reusable, reversible liquid trap immobilizing live pathogenic particles within a thin liquid shell at the membrane surface. A model reovirus will be used to develop the LGM system, and capture efficiency will be assessed using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction, infectivity assays, and structural assessment before the technology is validated using SARS-CoV-2. The team will explore the development of new intellectual property that would be well-aligned with manufacturing industries of both Maine and Massachusetts, including pulp and paper products.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.