Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
Sensors (Basel). 2023 Apr 11;23(8):3886. doi: 10.3390/s23083886.
There is a lot of discussion on how viruses (such as influenza and SARS-CoV-2) are transmitted in air, potentially from aerosols and respiratory droplets, and thus it is important to monitor the environment for the presence of an active pathogen. Currently, the presence of viruses is being determined using primarily nucleic acid-based detection methods, such as reverse transcription- polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests. Antigen tests have also been developed for this purpose. However, most nucleic acid and antigen methods fail to discriminate between a viable and a non-viable virus. Therefore, we present an alternative, innovative, and disruptive approach involving a live-cell sensor microdevice that captures the viruses (and bacteria) from the air, becomes infected by them, and emits signals for an early warning of the presence of pathogens. This perspective outlines the processes and components required for living sensors to monitor the presence of pathogens in built environments and highlights the opportunity to use immune sentinels in the cells of normal human skin to produce monitors for indoor air pollutants.
关于病毒（如流感病毒和 SARS-CoV-2）如何在空气中传播，可能通过气溶胶和呼吸道飞沫传播，存在很多讨论，因此监测环境中是否存在活跃的病原体非常重要。目前，主要使用基于核酸的检测方法（如逆转录-聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）检测）来确定病毒的存在。也为此开发了抗原检测方法。然而，大多数核酸和抗原方法都无法区分存活病毒和非存活病毒。因此，我们提出了一种替代的、创新的和颠覆性的方法，涉及一种活细胞传感器微器件，该器件从空气中捕获病毒（和细菌），被它们感染，并发出信号，对病原体的存在进行早期预警。本观点概述了活传感器监测建筑环境中病原体存在所需的过程和组件，并强调了利用正常人体皮肤细胞中的免疫哨兵来制造室内空气污染物监测器的机会。
