Touchscreen-compatible, real-time electrochemical sensing of SARS-CoV-2

PROJECT SUMMARYThe SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, the cause of the COVID-19 global pandemic, is efficiently spreadand has reached over 27 million confirmed cases as of September 8, 2020. There is therefore anurgent need for new technologies that can provide early detection of virus, reducing thetransmission and infection rate. The goal of this proposal is to develop an integrated biosensor-touchscreen that sensitivity reports surface contact with SARS-CoV-2. In our preliminary work,we have identified several aptamers that bind specifically to the envelope-anchored trimeric spike(S) protein of SARS-CoV-2, but not of SARS-CoV or MERS. In comparison to antibodies,aptamers are synthetic molecules that more thermally stable and lower cost while providingsimilar specificity and affinity of target binding. In this application, we propose to integrateaptamer-based biosensing of SARS-CoV-2 into a touchscreen device. Our main objectives are to1) engineer conformation switching aptamers for electrochemical sensing of SARS-CoV-2binding, 2) develop nanogap capacitive sensors as a uniquely complementary approach tocapacitive touchscreen technology and 3) build and test an integrated biosensor and touchscreenarray that can detect SARS-CoV-2 from patient samples. Successful completion of these aimswill result in a novel automatic sensing platform for SARS-CoV-2. This technology could transformpersonal device touchscreens as well as to multi-user touchscreen devices in hospitals, airports,libraries, restaurants, for early detection, curbing transmission rates from secondary exposure.Importantly, the developed technology could be adapted for other electronic sensing platforms,and easily applied for future pathogen detection.