Indoor air monitor can detect COVID-19 virus variants and other pathogens in real time in about 5 minutes

Good news! Stop the next epidemy/pandemy right in its tracks!

"A team of researchers .... developed a proof-of-concept air quality monitor that can detect live SARS-CoV-2 virus in indoor environments. The monitor uses a biosensor made with nanobodies that is integrated into an air sampler that operates based on the wet cyclone technology ...
Most commercial bioaerosol samplers operate at relatively low flow rates ..., while the team’s monitor has a flow rate of about 1,000 liters per minute, making it one of the highest flow-rate devices available. It is also compact at about 1 foot wide and 10 inches tall and lights up when a virus is detected, alerting administrators to increase airflow or circulation in the room. ..."

From the abstract:

"Real-time surveillance of airborne SARS-CoV-2 virus is a technological gap that has eluded the scientific community since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Offline air sampling techniques for SARS-CoV-2 detection suffer from longer turnaround times and require skilled labor. Here, we present a proof-of-concept pathogen Air Quality (pAQ) monitor for real-time (5 min time resolution) direct detection of SARS-CoV-2 aerosols. The system synergistically integrates a high flow (~1000 lpm) wet cyclone air sampler and a nanobody-based ultrasensitive micro-immunoelectrode biosensor. The wet cyclone showed comparable or better virus sampling performance than commercially available samplers. Laboratory experiments demonstrate a device sensitivity of 77–83% and a limit of detection of 7-35 viral RNA copies/m3 of air. Our pAQ monitor is suited for point-of-need surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 variants in indoor environments and can be adapted for multiplexed detection of other respiratory pathogens of interest. Widespread adoption of such technology could assist public health officials with implementing rapid disease control measures."

Air monitor can detect COVID-19 virus variants in about 5 minutes - The Source - Washington University in St. Louis Proof-of-concept device could also monitor for flu, RSV, other respiratory viruses

Real-time environmental surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 aerosols (open access)

Fig. 1: The layout of the pAQ monitor.