- Times of India
VIVA – Currently, scientists from China are developing a mask that can detect virus from a ten-minute conversation with an infected person. These masks are referred to as bioelectronic masks.
The wearable bioelectronic mask was designed by researchers from Tongji University. This mask can detect common respiratory illness viruses, including influenza and Corona Virus, in the air in the form of a splash or aerosol, and then alert the person wearing it through their mobile device.
As quoted from the Xianhua website on Thursday, September 22, 2022, according to research published in the Journal of Matter, the highly sensitive mask is capable of measuring trace-grade liquid samples of 0.3 microliters and gas samples at very low concentrations of 0.1 femtograms per milliliter.
The respiratory pathogens that cause Covid-19 and influenza are spread through tiny droplets and aerosols released by infected people when they talk, cough, and sneeze.
Memakai masker
- Times of India
According to a professor at Tongji University, Fang Yin said the detection of liquid containing the virus was less than the volume of fluid produced in one sneeze.
"The detection benchmark for liquid containing viral proteins in an enclosed space is about 70 to 560 times less than the volume of fluid produced in one sneeze and much less than the volume produced by coughing or talking," Fang Yin explained.
Fang Yin's team designed a small sensor that carries three types of synthetic molecules that are simultaneously able to recognize surface proteins in SARS-CoV-2, H5N1, and H1N1.
Once the molecules bind to the target protein, an ion-gated transistor integrated into the mask will amplify the signal and alert the wear of mask.
The designers said they could easily update the device on the masks to detect new respiratory viruses.
