Nanotubes with gold nanoparticles captures virus

“VIRRION” is the name of a device that researchers at Penn State and NYU have developed for the rapid identification of viruses.  “The prototype tool incorporates a vertically-aligned “forest” of carbon nanotubes, to which gold nanoparticles have been added. The diameter of those tubes, and thus the size of the spaces between them, can be tweaked in the manufacturing process. Doing so allows the nanotube forests to trap individual virus molecules of specific sizes, when liquid biological samples are passed through different versions of the device.  Once the viruses are captured, a technique known as Raman spectroscopy is used to identify them. Putting it very basically, this process involves subjecting a sample to laser light in order to excite its molecules, and then monitoring the manner in which those vibrating molecules scatter the light.  MORE

Image Credit:  Terrones Lab, Penn State