Graphene innovations for pandemic management

Scientists have long been aware of the threat of emerging infectious diseases, but the discovery and spread of COVID-19 has highlighted the need for effective management strategies. 

To tackle potential future disease outbreaks and the wider challenges they bring, adaptable and reliable medical technologies are key. In response, European Union scientific research initiative the Graphene Flagship has assembled a multidisciplinary working group to determine how graphene can be exploited for disease management and infection control.

The concept of Disease X — a hypothetical pathogen with the potential to cause future epidemics — was adopted by the World Health Organisation in 2018 to ensure its management plans were sufficiently adaptable to new diseases. The COVID-19 pandemic has emphasised that new infectious diseases can emerge at any time, and that preparing for this eventuality is now more important than ever.

In an increasingly globalised world, pathogens can spread at an unprecedented rate and the number of cases and deaths worldwide have only supported the need for improved preparation and planning in case of future pandemics.

Flexible planning and adaptable technologies are key in this fight — the development of the COVID-19 vaccine from existing pharmaceutical technology and its mass manufacture marked a turning point in the global pandemic response. Lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic can now be used to ensure that science and healthcare organisations worldwide are better prepared in future.

The Graphene Flagship, a scientific research initiative funded by the European Commission (EC), has united a panel of experts to determine how the unique properties of the carbon allotrope graphene – as well as other layered materials – could be exploited in fields such as virology, biotechnology and many others. The working group are exploring the potential for using graphene and related materials in the design of a novel generation of antiviral materials.

Mass testing

Rapid and accurate mass testing is essential in the management of any disease outbreak. The thousands of individuals travelling between towns, cities and countries daily can rapidly escalate an epidemic to a pandemic. The delayed development of rapid testing and the slower turnaround of PCR have posed problems in the global COVID-19 response, emphasising the importance of testing.

The emergence, and subsequent rapid transmission of the Omicron variant in late 2021 resulted in an increased demand for rapid and accessible testing using lateral flow tests, but their sensitivity and accuracy has been questioned. The availability of a pre-existing fast and more sensitive test that can easily be adapted to detect any pathogen which stimulates antibody response could allow more effective management strategies in future disease outbreaks.

Graphene Flagship Associate Member Grapheal is currently developing a graphene-enabled electronic immunoassay. The biosensor uses the high sensitivity of graphene combined with virus-specific antibodies to provide virus detection in saliva samples in under five minutes. The test can simply be connected to a smartphone and presents the possibility of rapid and accurate testing without the turnaround time of existing methods such as PCR. This technology was awarded “Best in Innovation” at the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), considered the world’s most influential technology event. The CES awards normally recognise multi-billion companies, and the fact that Grapheal was one of only 15 awardees from over 1800 candidates demonstrates the incredible market potential of their product.

The technology is currently being tested for accuracy and sensitivity, but it could be adapted to current and future diseases if antibodies are available. This could also be implemented to provide accelerated and convenient point-of-care testing, and as a requirement before travel or crowded events to mitigate the spread of infection.

Reducing the spread

Graphene has already been proven to have the capacity for antibacterial action, but a key focus of the task force will be proposing new ways of developing antiviral technologies for improved infection control. Possibilities covered include designing chemically altered graphene-based materials able to either inhibit the biological activity of viruses, or to repel them altogether. Coating surfaces with graphene has also been suggested to improve resilience to repeated cleaning cycles, reducing the chance of disease transmission.

Personal protective equipment (PPE) supply was identified as a critical issue in the early stages of the pandemic, with healthcare services and businesses struggling to obtain suitable and effective PPE. It has been proposed that graphene may be used in the development of antimicrobial materials which could vastly improve the effectiveness of PPE and cleaning products.

Adapting for the new normal

Beyond the obvious need for testing and infection control, the pandemic sparked a shift in the way we live and work, increasing our reliance on technology and the internet. Computerised systems for delivering and logging test results and contact tracing were also crucial in the tracking of COVID-19 cases. Improving the reliability and energy efficiency of these systems could help to ease future transitions to remote working and implementation of new healthcare systems and make them more sustainable.

Graphene Flagship Partners have demonstrated that graphene can be exploited in the production of ultra-high density hard disk drives (HDD) resulting in ultrahigh density magnetic data storage. This offers a tenfold increase in storage to ten terabits per square inch. This is a significant increase in the storage capacity in hard drives which could facilitate the move to more digitalised working practices.

Graphene Flagship spearhead project, METROGRAPH, is currently working on advanced communication technologies to improve internet networks using graphene-based photonic chips. It is hoped that this could improve wireless communications and enable cheaper high-bandwidth data transfers. Having robust communications and data storage systems in place is paramount in remote working and the use of contact tracing systems.

The pandemic has led to unprecedented disruption to all aspects of life worldwide since 2019, and it is evident that adaptable and flexible solutions are required to prevent it from occurring on this scale again. By developing pioneering technologies such as these graphene-based innovations, scientists and researchers hope to offer effective support to improve management strategies and limit the impact of future emerging diseases.