Viraless: The next frontier in biosecurity and biodefence?
Malika Vassilova, biological sciences student from Nazarbayev University’s School of Sciences and Humanities and iGEM Ambassador and Daniele Tosi, associate professor from its School of Engineering and Digital Sciences explain how they’ve developed a device which detects if viruses escape from labs.
Biological threats, both naturally occurring and manmade, have been a persistent concern for humanity for centuries. The COVID-19 pandemic has emphasised the need for rapid and point-of-care devices that can identify the presence of pathogens in real-time, which is crucial for the scientific and medical communities.
The accurate detection of viruses with a fast-responding (within a few seconds) device is a key development, as such a tool would be capable of identifying the presence of a target virus in a broad range of liquid media, such as domestic waters, wastewater, or grey waters.
Through the NATO SPS (Science For Peace and Security) project, our team has developed and tested a prototype device – called Viraless - based on optical fibre sensors for the detection of a poxvirus.
Viraless is a novel solution that provides a rapid, accurate, and specific way to detect pathogens in different fluids. It is an antibody-based biosensing system on optic fibres that utilises the principle of surface plasmon resonance. The system makes use of optic fibres by attaching monoclonal/polyclonal antibodies to their surface.
When viral antigens bind to these antibodies, they cause a change in the refractive index within the fibre – essentially changing how light is reflected into fibre. This interference is processed through the hardware tool and interpreted by the accompanying software, providing fast, accurate, and specific results in a user-friendly format.
We make this interference meaningful and easily interpretable by narrowing it down to two states. Antigen-specific antibodies attached to the surface of the fibre - now named functionalised optic fibre - represent one state. The second state appears when freely floating proteins of interest bind to fixated antibodies and change the reflection pattern of the light within the fibre. As a result, some of the light is being lost on its way, and the returned (decreased) intensity is recorded as an interaction, helping us to draw a conclusion about the presence of certain proteins in a sample.
Adding to all that, optic fibres themselves offer a great number of benefits of their use:
- The remarkable sensitivity provided by optic fibres allows us to detect viral proteins in nanomolar or even picomolar concentrations, meaning that functionalised optic fibres can effectively detect the presence of a virus;
- Real life detection and high detection speed (few seconds);
- Due to low production costs for optic fibres, proposed systems will be accessible and convenient for installation on a large scale;
- The technology is open for multi-channel detection, implying that with time, we can increase the list of detectable pathogens by our system.
The primary area of use for Viraless is in biosecurity and biodefense, detecting pathogens in rivers, wastewaters, laboratories, or military areas to prevent epidemics and the use of bioweapons.
The aim of the device is to provide an optimal platform for biosafety that can rapidly detect a specific pathogen while seamlessly integrating with its environment. Applications include the detection of outbreaks in urban environments through detection in wastewater, or the detection in grey waters in indoor locations, such as in a plane – following the approach proposed for advanced detection of the COVID-19 pathogen. We envision the technology to be used in biosafety facilities, to monitor the leaking of viruses from research laboratories, for example.
Unlike other existing detection methods, Viraless has the unique ability to detect synthetic genetically-modified pathogens. The technology can support the detection of specific pathogens in liquid media, in urban environments, or deployed in separate communities, as well as in indoor scenarios. In its portable form, it can also be used by field epidemiologists for rapid testing and identification of viral pathogens in environmental samples.
The versatility and accessibility of Viraless make it a valuable tool in the fight against emerging biological threats. The device is in the proof-of-concept stage and has verified its mechanism of detection using optic fibres. There is still a way to go with optimising the system for industrial bioprocessing and creating the minimum viable product (MVP). In the future, Viraless has the potential to be used in various other applications, including monitoring outbreaks of infectious diseases and the detection of bioterrorism threats. The technology could also be used to detect other important molecules - there is already work being done on cancer detection, etc.
Viraless represents the next frontier in biosecurity and biodefense. With its technology and ability to detect a wide range of pathogens, Viraless can have a significant impact in the fight against emerging biological threats. The development of Viraless is a positive step towards a safer future for all and a demonstration of the continued commitment to protect humanity from the dangers of biological threats.
This project has already received a Golden Medal at the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) Competition in 2022 and drew interest from many stakeholders, ranging from biotechnology companies to National Security and Defense experts.