Tiny vortexes help detect dangerous viruses

Whirlpools are mostly associated with death and danger on the high seas, but these glowing vortexes are working to help humanity. One of the most difficult steps in creating diagnostic tests is purifying samples to remove unwanted particles while concentrating biomarkers of interest.

Due to the specific wavelengths of vibrations used to create these whirlpools, they efficiently trap cells, bacteria and other larger bioparticles found in saliva while leaving antibodies and viruses free to flow forward through multiple biosensing chambers.

Created by Tony Jun Huang, the William Bevan Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science at Duke, and his Acoustofluidics Lab, they represent the first step in a new single-chip diagnostic prototype that can detect viral RNA and a full spectrum of antibodies to enhance our ability to navigate and neutralize future pandemics.

The research is published in the journal Science Advances.